PK Time Warp
by Colatiel
Summary: A rip in the space time continuum caused by Porky's time traveling shenanigans has resulted in a certain twin being yanked out of his world and shoved into one where things have taken a turn for the worst. Now there's two of him. What will Claus do now that the world is heading for destruction with himself at the front of this catastrophe?
1. Blackhole

Claus glared up at the large bearded man that reeked of bananas and sweat as the man whispered hushed commands to both boys. The village was finally changing for the worst as more and more buildings were cheaply erected and roads paved over grassy meadows and fields. This man was encouraging the use of 'Happy Boxes', something he and Lucas had never trusted ever since the start, despite the weariness of the rest of the village.

"You two need to stay out of my hair!" Hissed Fassad as he brought a hand up to jab Lucas in the chest, which caused Claus to reach out and slap his hand. With an overzealous cry Fassad leapt back and held his hand to his chest.

"Y-You little biting heathen!" He shrieked which roused the crowd he had managed to pull in around the fountain that was once a well. "You and your brother have turned into beasts! Animals! Creatures of wrong doing! All because you have constantly refused to let happiness into your hearts!" Fassad turned to preach to the audience he had. "People of Tazmilly! Please, do not turn to violence such as these two have! Bring happiness into your homes and happiness will bring you peace!"

Both boys sneered at the man, but Lucas started to slink away when he heard the soft murmurings and mutterings of the people he once trusted. He turned and started back up the path and Claus trailed after him once he got a few under his breath curses out. Both boys walked out of the modernized town and started up the sidewalk, no real destination in mind.

"What is his deal?" Claus grumbled as he shoved his hands into his shorts pockets "I didn't bite him and he was clearly hurting you!"

"He wasn't hurting me but he still over reacted!" Lucas spat as he mimicked his brother's pose.

"He totally was hurting you, I saw that frown on your face!"

"I just don't like being touched by people who smell like bananas!" He grumbled, Claus snorted at that as he brought a hand to his shoulder.

"Fine, he wasn't hurting you." He mused "He was just avoiding touching me! Cause if he touched me I would've totally bitten him!"

Lucas snickered and pushed at Claus "If he touched you he wouldn't even be able to eat another banana again!"

"Yeah! Y'know what, we should go back there and get him to jab at my chest that way I can knock his lights out!"

"Yeah we sh- We're getting too riled up over this." Lucas sighed "Let's just leave him alone and look for the source of this whole dilemma."

"You mean the people behind the pig masks?"

"Uh huh! Someone has to be ordering them around! If we can stop that person, we can stop the destruction of the village!"

"Heck, we can stop the destruction of the entire island! You've seen what they've done to the forest, who knows what else they've done!"

"You're right!" Lucas gasped "but… Where do we start?"

"Should we ask Uncle Alec what to do? His house is a bit far away, but if we run it'll be a lot faster!"

"...Yeah, let's go for it!" Lucas smiled and started running down the sidewalk, over towards the dirt path that led to the small shrine just before the forest. "Uncle Alec always knows what to do!" Lucas sung. Claus laughed as he tried to keep up with his sibling, but once they started seeing trees he found himself surpassing Lucas. Poor blond was getting side tracked by flying mice and chicken heads on snake bodies, which was pretty funny to Claus, but he wasn't gonna stop and help him. Lucas can take care of himself, he's shown he's a pretty good fighter. Guess his dweeby brother was finally growing to be a strong boy.

Claus continued to run through the mostly cleared forest; he ran from most of the dangers within it, like the mice and the living shrubs that wanted nothing more than to trip him up. When he reached the dirt pathway that started to lead up to the mountains, he turned and called out at Lucas.

"I got here fiiiirst! C'mon Lucas ya rotten egg! Catch up!" He teased from a distance, but he was a bit surprised at the lack of a running blond. He pursed his lips, waited another few moments, and brought his hands up to cup around his mouth to project his voice.

"Lucas?! Lucas are you okay?!" He called, the silence being too worrying to him. He took a few steps forward, squinted to look out into the charred remains of the forest, and was horribly startled by the sound of a squeal behind him. He turned around sharply and was greeted by a strange sight. A white pigmask. It was so foreign to Claus, he'd only ever seen pink before, and occasionally blue, but white?

His confusion only lasted a small moment as the pig mask squealed again. From behind came a troop of about four green pigmasks. Now there's green? Heckin' green? But again, Claus' confusion only lasted a small moment as the green pig masks charged him.

"C-Commander! What are you doing out here?!" Cried one of the pigmasks that reached out to grab onto his left arm. He tried to shake that pigmask off, but another reached out to snatch up his other arm.

"You idiot, this isn't the commander! Our commander wears different clothes!" He yanked Claus by his arm, which caused him to stumble and bump into the side of the pigmask.

"He still looks strikingly similar to our commander!" Another pigmask said as he drew his gun.

"I-Is it casual Friday? Does the commander do that?" The final pigmask asked. He then turned and looked at the white and caped pigmask. "S-Sir, are you making the call?"

"Y-Yes, give me a moment and I'll be back with the results!" The Colonel yelled as he took the phone he was given and began to hammer in numbers.

Claus glared and tried to yank his arms away from the vice like grip of the pigmasks, anger starting to set in.

"I-I don't know what's going on, or what you guys want, but if you hurt my brother I swear you all are in a world of pain!" Claus shouted as he tried to kick out at the pigmasks. The kicking got a startled pig-like squeal out of a few as one drew his baton and struck out at Claus' knees. Claus shouted in pain at the various whacks he got with it as his legs gave out from under him. The pigmasks however didn't seem to mind having to lift the small boy, he didn't weigh that much to begin with so it was no skin off their ugly pig noses.

The phone began to ring at the other end, and luckily there was a rather eager servant there to answer it. Another fellow Colonel picked up the phone.

"Hello? Who is this?" He shouted into the phone.

"I-It's me, the Colonel of Sector A7. I wanted to ask about the state of the commander."

The other Colonel looked down at the phone then back at the large crib-like machine that was situated towards the window. With a hard swallow the Colonel took the dial pad in one hand, held the phone out towards the crib, and waddled towards it.

"S-Sir, it's Sector A7. Th-They wish to speak to you about the commander." He quaked in his boots as he watched the cradle turn around with its spider-like appendages, revealing the living corpse that laid inside. With a strained wheeze, the king sat up within his cradle and held his hand out.

"Give me the phone." He gurgled out. The Colonel shuffled closer once more and handed him the phone as he held the dial pad out for him.

"What is it? What do you idiots need now? Your commander gave you your orders, why aren't you following them?!" He yelled into the phone. After that outburst he fell into a harsh cough.

The Colonel of A7 winced at the spluttering coughs of his king, but he wasn't going to shake this issue off. He waited until King Porky finished his coughing fit before continuing.

"Y-Yes, our commander gave us orders. A-And we were following through with that order! H-However… We found something we-we thought you would like to hear!" He said, forcing a cheery tone to his voice.

King Porky cocked a brow under that mat of hair as he purred into the phone. "Go on."

"W-Well, we found a boy th-that looks rather similar to our commander!" That roused a ghost of a gasp out of Porky "A-And he's in our hands at the moment! We have him captured!"

Claus glared at the speaking Colonel and, despite his distance, he shouted out at him. "Like HELL do you have me captured!" That phrase earned him a swift baton to the face. The pigmasks holding the poor boy seemed to enjoy hurting the young ginger. Maybe it was just a bit of pent up aggression towards the actual commander. Oh how Porky absolutely loved that thing almost as much as he loved himself.

Porky chuckled lowly at the faint sound of the voice over the phone. He thought he had finally captured Lucas. He was gonna have some fun with the blond when he finally got his hands on him. He looked over at the robot that stood on standby in the corner of the room, his lips curling into a devilish smirk.

"Where are you at the moment?"

"W-We're at the forest! By the canyon!"

"The forest we burnt down?"

"Y-Yes!"

"I'm sending the commander over there. You idiots can't be trusted with something as simple as babysitting a monster in a cage let alone being trusted with a child!" He mocked, basking in the fact that he could feel the Colonel shriveling up at that. Indeed the Colonel of Sector A7 was cringing at his insult, but he bit his lip under his mask and continued forth.

"O-Okay sir, we will await for his arrival."

"You better not lose the kid!" He growled into the phone just before he hung up. He slammed the phone down onto the dial pad, almost sending the other Colonel by his side to the floor. Despite being an old man, he still surprised his men with his bursts of strength. Porky laid back in his bed, took a few deep breaths, and pointed at the masked man that stood in the shadows of the facility.

"You! Come here!" Porky commanded, and the masked man stepped forward and over to the cradle. "Yes, my little monster. What a good little beast, you're so much better than those bumbling idiots. I need you to go to their location. They're on the outskirts of that wretched village, by the burnt forest, do you understand?" Porky said as he reached out to roughly grip the masked man's shoulder. The man nodded and turned after Porky released him from his icy grip. Without another word or even a look, the masked man was off to go collect their prize.

On the other hand the pigmasks were having a bit of an issue.

"Are you sure he isn't just the commander in casual clothing?" The pigmask with the baton mumbled.

"I'm sure of it!" Another crowed.

"How are you so sure he isn't the commander?"

"Our commander doesn't moan and groan and whine like this one does!" He said, motioning towards a very angry Claus with his gun.

"I don't moan or groan you bird brains!" Claus barked, which earned him a hit to the gut from the baton wielding pigmask.

"Yeah, you're right. Our commander is a lot quieter than that!" The one with the baton snorted as he waved the baton in front of Claus' pained face. Just as he said that their Colonel waddled forward, his cape blowing in the breeze as he tucked his phone into his belt.

"Good news, this isn't our commander!"

A collective sigh of relief escaped all of the pigmasks surrounding Claus.

"However, the commander is coming here to pick him up."

"What?! Why is he coming here?!" One pigmask squealed as his grip on Claus' arm tightened.

"Yeah! Why is he coming?!"

"W-Well… The king said we can't be trusted with him."

"That's a stupid reason!" Another pigmask grunted out "We could totally take this kid to Porky himself!"

"Yeah, and we'd do it a lot faster than that stupid commander!"

"I know I know we can do better than the commander, but think of it this way." He turned to Claus. "What if he's sending the killing machine to pick him up just in case King Porky needs to get info out of him?! Interrogate him with his strongest weapon!"

All of the pigmasks gasped, it making the most sense to them. They started to oink out of approval as they shook Claus.

"Yeah! You're right! He probably wants to scare the kid into talking!"

"And then probably wants to dump him into the ocean right after!"

Claus sat there as his eyes widened. Was he gonna seriously be killed? Just like that? Oh god he hoped not.

"Y-You're all insane!" He cried out as he tried to kick out at the pigmasks. The one with the baton stuck out at his legs, despite the forming bruises on his knees. Claus cried out again in pain, but the pigmask didn't stop there. He wanted to shut the boy up, even if it was temporary, so he brought his baton up high and struck the back of his head.

Claus saw stars for a moment before darkness overcame his vision, his heart started to race at the idea of being plucked from life so easily. When his body relaxed in the pigmask's grip, they all began to bicker amongst each other.

"D-Did you kill him?!" Shrieked the Colonel as he placed his hands up to his mask's cheeks.

"N-No! I didn't! I-I couldn't have!" He screamed as he brought his gloved hand down to press two fingers to Claus' neck. There was a moment of silence before he sighed in relief and the tense atmosphere was sliced in two. He was actually feeling his own blood pumping rather than Claus', but luckily Claus was still alive regardless. Porky was right, these guys are idiots. Regardless of rank.

Each pigmask took turns insulting the baton wielder mercilessly, each one coming up with more and more creative curses to insult this piggy idiot. The insults stopped once a loud fwoosh sounded behind the group and a strong gust of warm wind blew over them. The Colonel gulped as he turned around to look at the masked man that had just landed before them all.

The Colonel brought a hand up to his forehead, saluting the masked man. The other majors dropped what they were doing to turn and salute the masked man as well. They ended up releasing Claus' limp body, which flopped over with a soft thud as the majors saluted. The masked man's wings retracted into his back once both feet were on the ground, and he didn't even look any of the pigmasks in the eyes as he walked towards the crumpled heap of boy he was told to retrieve.

The majors by Claus all parted away to give the masked man room. The Colonel slowly stepped closer.

"W-We're sorry we didn't have the carpet ready for you sir. I-I have it now if you would like it! It's in the ship!" He said, his form bouncing as he tried to convey some kind of cheer.

The masked man didn't reply to him as he knelt down onto his knee near Claus. A soft exhale was heard from the masked man. That caused the pigmasks to worry as they watched him carefully. The masked man brought his left hand up to his face, bit the glove, and slid it off. Once his hand was bare he brought it down to Claus' neck to press two fingers to his neck near his jaw. Already he was obviously more intelligent than the pigmasks, as he actually got a proper pulse from Claus. The Colonel reached out to pluck the glove from the masked man's mouth.

"H-here, let me get that for you!" He sung and held the glove by it's thumb and little finger. The masked man turned his head slowly towards the Colonel and he held his hand up for it to be put back on. The Colonel muttered "oh" and slid the glove back on properly and the masked man pulled away once that was done. The majors all stood stiffly as they watched the masked man grip onto one of the belt loops in Claus' shorts. Without warning his wings expanded, clocking the poor Colonel in the head in the process.

The Colonel was out like a light as he flopped back onto the grass, but the masked man didn't care. Instead he allowed the wings to fire up, and soon he was hovering with his new load. He gave the majors one last look over before ascending to the skies, leaving nothing behind besides an out cold Colonel. When you only had a single hand to use, it was pretty tedious holding things. He was grateful that Claus was out cold, since it was now similar to carrying a load of boxes or a very small clayman.

He spoke too soon.

Claus mumbled softly as he started to awake from his forced slumber. He mumbled his sibling's name and slurred a soft question as his eyes began to focus. What they focused on scared the life out of poor Claus. It was a top down view of numerous buildings and trees from the highest point he had ever been at, and to say Claus screamed was an understatement. He shrieked like a banshee as he tried to grab onto what was holding him, his eyes glued to the ground as he felt like his death was coming soon. Holy shit they legit wanted to kill Claus! They really did!

Claus began to squirm and kick uselessly, not quite liking the flimsy hold on his belt loop, or at least he deemed it flimsy. The masked man glared down at Claus from behind his mask, angry that he had awoken, but he was far too high up to do anything about it. Claus gripped onto the masked man's wrist, sounding like on the verge of tears as he shrieked out a "Let me up! Please!"

He turned back to try and look up at the machine currently dangling him over the town, but he froze when he saw a human face staring at him. Another girly shriek tore its way out of his throat as both hands reached to try and get this man off of him. He'd rather fall and deal with the consequences with that rather than be whisked around by a human helicopter.

The masked man sneered slightly as the kid attempted to pry his grip from his shorts. The more he squirmed the more his shorts were slightly tugged down. Soon enough he'd be slipping out of his shorts and falling to the world below, and the masked man didn't want that to happen. With a heave he yanked the boy upwards by his pants, listened to him shriek as he released his hold, and then watched him drop a bit before reaching out to snatch up his ankle.

Claus bit his lip as his leg was stretched out, the bruises from the earlier beatings causing the pain in his knee to flare up. Though the boy looked upwards towards the masked man, brows furrowed as he glared at the underside of his face. The thing just started ignoring him, how cruel. Claus grunted as he hung upside down, and he felt his face growing warm, which was accompanied by the smell of burning gasoline. His eyes wandered to stare up at the masked man's expanded wings, and he immediately thought this thing was a demon out of hell.

"L-Let me go you b-beast!" Claus yelled as he attempted to strike out at the masked man's hand. The masked man looked down at Claus with the blankest expression as he watched him kick out at his hand. After taking a few hits he gave Claus a rather harsh shake by yanking him up and letting gravity do the rest. Claus squeaked out of fear of being dropped, but his kicks subsided as he glared at the masked man.

"Where are you even taking me?! Why are you even taking me?! I'm not gonna help you guys do anything so tough luck!" He called out to the unresponsive creature. Claus started to grow frustrated at the lack of speaking, so he brought his other leg up again to try and kick his way free. "If you're the one behind this I'm going to kill you when we land! No if, ands, or butts about it! I'll fricking kill you!"

The threat of death caused the masked man to stare down at Claus, the stare sent a cold chill down Claus' spine as he tried to focus on the eyes that were mostly hidden by the visor. A heavy pit was lodged in his stomach as he stared longer and longer at this unblinking beast, and then it hit him. That face looked awfully familiar. His lip quivered as he tried to dislodge any bad thoughts. No, this couldn't have been Lucas. Lucas is so much stronger than this! Like hell would that little blond boy give up and fall into doing evil! Especially when he had his back turned for only a few seconds! That's when Claus began to grow suspicious of the events that led up to this point. Where was Lucas?

The Empire Porky building was now beginning to come into view as well as the mostly deserted and in progress New Pork City. Claus started up his speaking once again.

"If you hurt a single hair on Lucas' head I will have your head mounted up on my fireplace! And you'll have a plaque that reads 'Trophy number 205, idiot in a suit'!"

That quip didn't get much out of the masked man as he flew upwards towards the highest floor of the Empire Porky building. They were getting close and Claus was dreading what was awaiting him. To be fair, if you were being lugged around by your ankle while you were about 100 feet in the air and ascending you'd be dreading anything too.

Awaiting peacefully by the window laid Porky, his crib facing away from the glass as he planned out what to do with the blond boy. Threaten him a bit, maybe insult him, make sure he made himself seem better than him, and then send him off to the chimera lab. Two masked men are better than one, and it's two birds with one stone too! Two PK Loving little birds. Porky turned in his crib as he heard the masked man outside of his window, the sound of his wings burning fuel gave him away.

"The window's open my little canary!" Porky called out, a flurry of coughs attacking his lungs at the strain of his voice. The masked man then scanned the window, looking for the bit that Porky claimed was 'opened', but that was the catch. There was no 'opened' portion of the window, it was all just one giant bit of glass. The masked man didn't think twice, once it was confirmed there was no opened portion, he reeled back and used his momentum and hard mask to smash the glass that separated him and his owner. The sound of glass crashing was one Porky wanted, mainly to yell at his bot for.

"You IDIOT!" Porky yelled as his crib turned around to face the now broken window. The masked man eased him and his victim down onto the floor. Claus' head hit the ground first before the masked man landed, but he didn't seem to pay him much heed as the wings retracted into his back. Claus tried to get a better look at the giant spider he saw, but his current position and his stinging head prevented him from doing so. Though that voice began to grate on his nerves.

"The window was open you mutant! You could have flown in like a good little minion but no! You had to break the window!" Porky sneered as he turned to fully face the masked man and the boy. "Now you're going to have to pay for the damage. Oh wait! I don't pay you!" Porky laughed a bit too hard at that, but the masked man didn't even flinch or blink during that whole ordeal. It seemed like Porky was barking up the wrong tree if he wanted a reaction.

"Now, is that how you hold a friend?" Porky sneered as he looked down to the folded body of the boy he sent his 'son' after. The masked man looked down at Claus, released his leg, bent down, and hoisted him up by his shirt collar. Claus winced but immediately shoved out at the masked man. Big mistake. When the masked man was shoved his knee jerk reaction was to swing his blaster arm, and that decked Claus right in the side of the head, causing the poor boy to see stars as he collapsed for the second time in the span of about an hour or so.

Porky laughed at that, finding great joy in his creation carrying out his duties. The demon glared at the orange haired boy, and in a fit of rage, pulled his leg back and kicked at his stomach. Claus however grunted and attempted to sit up to try and retaliate despite his vision not being the best at the moment. Though those thoughts were stomped out once the masked man reached down and yanked him up by his ice cream hair.

"My, aren't you the fighter!" Porky teased as he leaned forward in his bed to get a better look at Claus. "Those bruised knees look good on you. May I ask how you earned those?" He sounded like such a smug bastard and even looked like one with that stupid smirk on his face.

Claus glared at Porky, not even phased by his looks. "I-I got them from your stupid pigs!" He spat, which roused more chortling laughter from Porky.

"I can't believe you got beat up by those bumbling idiots! Lucas, the boy that was supposed to save humanity, bested by a bunch of morons in suits!" Porky started to bang his hand against his bed he was laughing so hard, but he stopped laughing at Claus' words.

"Whaddya mean Lucas got bested by those idiots?! He's stronger than that, like hell would he be taken down by them!"

Porky leaned forward some more in his bed. He placed a hand to the side to hold himself in place as he squinted to see Claus better. This wasn't Lucas.

"Those IMBECILES!" Porky shouted, he brought a hand down to bang against the bed, causing it to rumble as Claus' glare held strong. "They bring me the wrong boy! Of course they would mess up like this! Of course!" He wheezed loudly as he relaxed from his outburst. Oh that was not good for his heart. Though during his relaxing he looked at Claus more closely. Then he looked at his masked man. They looked strikingly similar, startling so!

"You. Monster. Lift up your mask for a moment." Porky ordered the masked man to do so, and without another word he used the barrel of his blaster to tilt the mask upwards. Claus looked over at the creature that was dragging him around and he felt his heart sink. Now that he saw his face better, he was almost certain that was Lucas. The eyes, the cheeks, even the jawline was oh so familiar to his beloved brother. He felt tears welling up in his eyes at the thought of his brother falling into this madness like this, until he noted something further up. Orange hair.

Claus swallowed hard as he brought a hand up to swing at the masked man's face, effectively punching him as well as knocking the helmet clean off of him. The masked man threw Claus off to the side as he stumbled away from him, holding a hand to his now aching face.

"Don't you hurt my child!" Porky snarled as his crib lurched forward. Claus flinched at the sight of that giant junk of metal teetering towards him, but he stayed strong as he tried to get a better look at the monster. The once masked man pulled his hand away to look at Claus, and Claus felt his heart sink. That was him. That was him and there was no doubt about it. The mutant brought his blaster arm outward and aimed it at Claus, it beginning to fire up as Claus looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Now now, let us all relax here!" Porky coughed. A devilish idea began to creep up into his mind as he looked to Claus. "Maybe our little guest has stuff we want. My little animal, would you please do the honors?"

Claus started to try and crawl away when he saw the thing stride forward, but he found himself stuck once he brought his hand down to roughly grab his ankle. With Claus now stuck in place and the blaster pointed at him, Porky began.

"Where is Lucas?" He growled out, the spider legs of his crib beginning to creep closer to both boys.

"I-I don't know!" Claus shrieked. Porky tsked and Claus could see the beam beginning to start within the barrel of the blaster.

"Wrong answer! Answer correctly and you won't lose your life!"

"I-I really don't know where he is!" He sobbed out. The hum of the blaster started up and Porky grinned.

"One more time, tell me where Lucas is!"

"I-I don't-" Before Claus could get out his answer, the Colonel from before rushed into the fray.

"S-Sir! The boy and his weird friends are heading for Thunder Tower!" The Colonel cried out as he barged in through the doors. He didn't even manage to salute as he looked to the strange scene before him. Porky wore a frightening smile as he spoke out at the Colonel.

"Go after them! Make sure they don't try anything within the tower!"

The Colonel nodded, saluted, and turned to run out of the throne room. Once the large doors were heard shutting and the elevator began whirring he chuckled darkly.

"My perfect little child. Take your new friend to the chimera labs." Porky ordered. The child Porky adored oh so much nodded, and released Claus' leg to bring his foot down on his shin. Claus screamed in pain as he brought that leg closer to his chest, his hands reaching out to press a hand against his shin as the masked man ran off to retrieve his mask. Once the mask was situated back onto his head, he charged Claus, snatched up his other leg, allowed his wings to spring out, and he flew out of the hole he made earlier, all in one swift motion. Porky laid back and laughed, the idea of another mindless child got him in a good mood.

Claus didn't even seem to protest the fact that he was back in the air once more. He was too busy trying to process how in the world there were two hims. Something had to have happened, something major. Lucas was here one moment, gone the next, and suddenly he was at this 'Thunder Tower', something he had never heard of! How could a boy who couldn't even beat Claus in a race move around so quickly?! As he thought his eyes began to wander to the masked man that was more than upset at this boy. He would've killed the boy if it weren't for the fact that he was an essential piece at this point. That and Porky would have him be some kind of lamp if he messed up that bad.

Claus took a deep breath, collected his thoughts, and spoke out to the masked man.

"You don't have to do this." He said sternly. "Y-You're so much better than this! What would Lucas say?!" He shouted, expecting an answer. Tough luck, the masked man was as silent as a cold winter night.

"He would be so upset with you! And what about dad?! Dad would ground you for twenty years to come!"

He didn't seem to care about that.

"Claus just listen to me!" He shouted, finding it strange to say his own name. Though, the mention of his own name got the bot to look down at him. Finally.

"Are you listening? I hope you are! Cause you're doing horrible things right now!" Annnnd turns out it was just his doppelganger making sure he was still there.

"Claus you aren't like this! You're a kid that likes to fight and make friends! Not a mindless slave to some fat kid in a cradle!" He bellowed, hearing his voice echo over the mountains below. Still there was nothing from the masked man.

"What about mom?!" He shrieked. That got a response from him. A very startled look. Claus took a deep breath and started belting off his complaints. "Mom wouldn't want you to do this! She loved you and cared for you and this is what you grow up to be?!" He shouted, his own heart sinking as he was forced to recall his mother's death, tears starting at the corners of his eyes. Though it seemed to be falling all on deaf ears as the masked man just stared down at Claus.

"H-Hinawa wouldn't have wanted this!" He wailed as he brought his leg up to kick at his hand again. The tears at his eyes trickled upwards along his forehead, and fell down to the ground below. "S-She wanted you to be great and strong! Not s-some idiot's lackey!" He tried to bend upwards to try to get himself free. "Your f-family's all disappointed in you! M-Mom especially! She wanted the best a-and you go and stab her in the b-back!" He screamed.

Though the masked man slowly turned his head away to look at the approaching labs. Claus frowned and adverted his blurry vision to the labs. They were as ominous as they came. He continued to hiccup and sob, now into his hands, as they landed right outside of the labs. Claus' head hit the ground for a moment, until he was raised once more. The masked man raised Claus up by the leg he held and seemed to hold him over his shoulder; he held the ankle outward slightly as he made sure the bend of his knee was nestled against his shoulder, limiting any attempts at movement from that leg for the moment. Claus' back was pressed against the masked man's, he felt the warmth the wings emitted against his lower back.

A shaky sigh left Claus' lips as he watched the world shake around him with every step the masked man took. He felt the cool air conditioning once both boys stepped in and he heard the squealing of multiple pigmasks saluting their commander. He didn't even bother looking at them as he cried his last few tears. He watched the walls pass him and he looked at everything at such a strange and upside down perspective. A sniffle shook his small and battered body as he heard a door open and watched the doorway pass.

Once the masked man was in the room, he released Claus from his grip, causing him to fall on his head on the tile floor. Claus groaned in pain as he flopped over, but the masked man was more concerned with closing and locking the door than with the boy. Once that was done he reached down to grab Claus by his shoulder to hoist him up. Once up onto his feet, he saw what was in store for him.

A huge threatening machine that looked like it could yank his limbs from his body and reattach them at the flip of a switch. And that's what the masked man started to push him towards.

Claus shrieked and tried to escape from his grip on his shoulder, but he was quickly yanked back and onto his butt. The blaster was now aimed at him as the masked man grabbed him by the front of his shirt, hoisting him up yet again by it. Now Claus was getting tired of this. Without another thought Claus brought his fist back and decked the masked man in the jaw, causing him to release his hold on him and stumble back, similar to how it was back at the tower.

He could have sworn he heard that thing cursing, but it was hard to tell whispers from whirring metal. Claus still booked it and he ran for the chemicals he saw sitting upon a table. The masked man grit his teeth and charged at Claus, but Claus grabbed a beaker and splashed its contents onto his face.

That stopped him dead in his tracks as he lurched back to assess the damage. Electricity sparked off of him as Claus expected some kind of face melting going on, but instead saw a very angry and sparky masked man. He looked between the beaker and the masked man, trying to figure out what had occurred. Until he smelled blueberries in the air. It was blueberry juice. He just splashed blueberry juice onto a threatening beast and maybe made it sticky. God pigmasks were stupid.

The masked man charged forward and pushed Claus with his blaster, shoving him into the corner of a near by command input used for the machine that laid in the middle of the room. Claus shouted and collapsed into a heap as he placed a hand to his lower back, the pain being nearly unbearable there. The masked man could have dragged him off right then and there, but he didn't.

Instead he stood over Claus, his blaster whirring up as the energy inside emitted a blue glow. Claus cowered and scooted away as he looked up at his face. It was animalistic, like the bot had finally snapped. His jaw was clenched, teeth bared, eyes wide, and his breathing was heavy. He saw his chest rising and falling with great fervor and he wondered just how robotic this thing was.

The blaster though didn't let Claus think too much as he backed up into a corner, knees to his chest as he felt weak and vulnerable. The masked man didn't approach him, only followed him with his eyes and his blaster.

And then there was a roar followed by a crash.

That snapped the masked man out of his aggressive fit. He leaned back to stare at the door as the sound of heavy footsteps pattered past it. The sounds of many squealing pigmasks signified it was absolute chaos outside. The masked man looked back at Claus, sneered, and ran towards the door. Claus sighed in relief as he watched him unlock the door and slam it behind himself as he left. He thought he could finally escape and be free from this mess. Until he heard a thud at the door.

The masked man outside was not one to let his victim escape. Before he left he made sure there were no windows around the lab, and thankfully there weren't, so he settled for jamming the lock. He locked the door before he left, stepped back outside, brought his foot back, and kicked at the door frame where the lock held strong. It dented the lock slightly, now making it near impossible for anyone to open that door. Except it was possible for the masked man. And maybe a couple of people with drills. But until then, Claus was stuck like a stick in the mud.

Claus sat on the floor of the lab as he assessed his injuries, then stood to get a good look around. His first instinct was to try the door, but he found it to be jammed as he jimmied the handle. He exhaled deeply as he banged his hand against the door once and turned away.

"Lucas I hope you're okay." He muttered under his breath as he hobbled around the lab aimlessly. Time to try and find a way out of this mess.


	2. Chimera Labs

Lucas. That poor blond haired crybaby was gone in the blink of an eye, and Claus was left alone to wonder just what happened to him. Claus leaned against the command prompt for the multi-armed machine and looked himself over. The beating that the pigmasks gave him had finally left sickly purple-ish mark, with each feather light stroke the pain flared up. Though, those patchy marks were nothing compared to the boot shaped splotch on his shin just above his ankle. He cursed under his breath as he turned his head upwards to look out at the room he was currently trapped in.

The door was jammed, there weren't any windows, and his only choice seemed to be that machine in the center of the room, which he dubbed 'The Mauler'. Claus hobbled forward to take a closer look at the powered down machine, a sick sense of curiosity pushing him to do so. The arms that protruded from it looked awfully sharp and menacing while the set of medical tools off to the side looked dirty with dried blood. Or was that rust? He couldn't tell and quite frankly he didn't want to know.

Claus brought a hand up to his face and he hissed as he accidentally pressed down on a bruise he didn't realize he had. Between the pigmasks and the masked man, it was safe to say they had done a number on him, but his strong will kept him going. No punch or kick would bring his deter him from his plan, which was to find Lucas. He recalled the shrill voice that told the strange toddler of a man the whereabouts of Lucas and friends; Thunder Tower. He had to get there, issue is he didn't know where it was.

The orange haired boy limped back over to the jammed door and gave it one last attempt before giving up on it. With a defeated sigh he let his eyes wander yet again, so far nothing in his head on how to get out. It seemed like everything was turned against him and it felt like he was pinned down to this one specific room. Escape seemed impossible, and Claus told himself that as he pressed his back against the door and slid down it. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes as he brought his legs closer to his chest. Maybe he would never get out of this place alive. Maybe those pigmasks were right, they were gonna kill him.

Those thoughts would've continued if not for the fact that he spotted a vent hidden away behind a bookshelf.

Claus jerked up and blinked back his tears as he looked at the partially exposed grate. His heart swelled as he got back up onto his feet, his pessimistic thoughts were now shunted out of his head. He stumbled on over as fast as his battered legs could carry him and stood by the bookshelf. He took a deep breath and began to work on moving the thing separating him from freedom. He slipped his small fingers into the gap between the wall and the bookshelf and began to pull back on the heavy wooden bookshelf. His muscles strained against the weight of the bookshelf, but he let out an exasperated gasp as he felt it moving. When he pulled away he saw that the bookshelf's spacing was much larger than before, enough to fit a foot in.

He pressed his back to the wall, angled his foot so his heel would press against the bookshelf, and he pushed with all of his might. It sucked that it was the leg with the large bruise given to him by his metal counterpart, but the pain was worth it as the bookshelf began to move. It screeched against the floor, leaving a few scratches in it's wake, but it moved. Claus soon scooted a bit closer to the back of the bookshelf once the gap was large enough that he could fit in it and he pressed his other foot to the back of the bookshelf as well. With his back pressed to the wall and both legs working to push the bookshelf, freedom was imminent.

When Claus' legs just barely reached the bookshelf he slid down the wall and went to work on the grate. The thing was dusty, so when Claus reached out to grab it he unleashed a cloud of dust that agitated his lungs, causing him to cough out. He pulled back and wiped his hand off on his shorts, thinking of a way to get this grate open. He noticed that the thing was held together by a pathetic set of screws, and he came to the conclusion that his legs were needed once again.

Claus leaned back onto his elbows and pulled a leg back to kick out at the grate. After a few single kicks the grate came off of it's screws and Claus was ecstatic. He sat back up, reached out to take the broken grate out of the vent, and crawled right in on his bruised knees. He was willing to take the pain if it meant getting out alive. Claus crawled forwards on his hands and knees until he hit a turn in the vent, except it wasn't a regular turn, it was a turn that led downward. He peered down at the rest of the vent and he found that it didn't branch off anywhere else, instead it turned inward in the same direction he came from. He began shuffling backwards, until he heard a roar followed by a very distressed squeal. Fight or flight, and in this case he chose flight.

With a gulp he slid over to the edge, reached out to press against the end of the vent with his palms, and eased his legs down to press against the other side of the vent. He planned to slide down to the bottom, but the flimsy metal of the vent gave the minute he put force to it, causing him to fall the whole 10 feet down. With a loud bang he landed at the bottom of the vent, leaving an indentation where his body landed. He groaned and sat up to look at where the vent led, but he couldn't see much past the tiny holes in the grate.

He pressed his hands against the rest of the vent to help push himself feet first through the rest of the vent. Once close enough, he kicked out at the grate. Like the first one, this grate came off of it's rusted screws quite easily, and it panged against the metal floor once it flew off. Claus continued to ease himself out of the vent, it being a bit awkward to see from a slanted angle, and he ended up falling out of the vent and onto his feet.

Claus stood up with the aid of the wall behind him and he found himself at a loss for words. Before him laid a room that was full of nothing but giant cages and snarling robotic animals. His heart leapt into his throat as his eyes darted between the rows of cages. The loud banging Claus made from within the vent startled and got all of these beasts on edge, they were all ready to attack and possibly even kill.

He swallowed hard and turned to look up at the vent he fell out of. It was going to be difficult getting back up, and even if he did manage to get up there, the climb back up the vent's turn would truly be impossible. He looked back at the rows of cages and took a deep breath, ready to walk through the rows of growling beasts.

His steps echoed slightly in the metallic room as he stepped forward. The first cage he saw held a rather ugly looking creature that looked to be a cross between a mushroom and a dog. It snarled viciously at him, it's head turning to follow him despite lacking eyes. He flinched slightly as he turned his head to look at another beast that called his attention by screaming. He looked downright horrified at the new beast, it being awfully ugly looking. It looked to be the head of an orangutan attached to the wings of a rather large bat, and it was just screeching at him. He brought his hands up to cover his ears as he continued on.

From that point on he refused to look at the other creatures, their screams and growls still slipping past his fingers despite his best efforts to silence everything around him. In that moment he wished he was deaf just so he didn't have to deal with this anymore. Though, he had to be strong, strong for Lucas and Flint. He let his eyes wander one more time as he saw the end of the room in sight and he felt his heart drop.

He found one of the cages outright destroyed.

Upon further examination he noticed that there were claw marks along the floor of the cage, bite marks in the bars, and pieces of the bars scattered across the floor. Whatever that thing was it must have escaped and he did not want to be caught dead with that thing near by.

He reached the end of the room and sighed, his hands still at his ears. He then turned his head slightly and spotted what seemed to be a doorway. His eyes lit up as he pulled his hands away from his ears and ran towards the door. He nearly rammed into the door he was so happy, but he frowned when it wouldn't open. It didn't even have a knob! He whimpered softly as he banged on the futuristic looking door, it looked like it wasn't budging. That is until it dinged softly and opened up wide for Claus. He gasped and ran inside, pleasantly surprised that this was actually an elevator. He looked at the one button that was at the control panel; it was labeled 1. His finger pressed the button and the doors closed slowly right after. As they were closing, Claus noted that everything had gone deathly quiet. You could hear a pin drop from a mile away it was so quiet.

The doors closed before him and the elevator jerked a bit before ascending upwards to the main floor. Claus sighed deeply as he leaned against the wall of the elevator, finding the ride to have been the most relaxing thing he had experienced ever since this whole mess began. For once he felt relaxed enough to concentrate on his PSI. He brought one of his legs up and pressed two fingers to a bruise, with a deep sigh he allowed himself to focus and use PSI Healing α. He watched as his fingertips glowed with a soft green light, and he was relieved once the pain of that bruise outright disappeared out from under his fingers. He pulled his hand back and assessed his leg, surprised to see that the bruise he touched was outright gone while the other bruises were lighter in color.

Now that things were quiet, he believed he was in the clear. He believed that everyone had evacuated due to the beast that was roaming around. The plan that was brewing inside of his mind was rather simplistic; find the exit and run out of there, if he ran into that beast, just run from that thing too until he found the exit. It was genius to little Claus, a bit cowardly, but still genius nonetheless!

The elevator dinged cheerfully and it knocked Claus out of his thoughts. He looked up at the number that had changed from B to 1, and he looked forward to the elevator doors. His heart pumped as he started to get ready to run. He shifted his legs, leaned forward, and bent his arms. He was ready to bolt. The doors started to slide open oh so painfully slow and Claus' ideas left him.

Waiting for him at the elevators doors was a large maw full of nothing sharp teeth and two golden and beady eyes. A girlish shriek tore its way out of his throat as he banged against the back of the elevator. A snarl was heard from the giant pink monster as it placed a heavy foot into the elevator. It was trying to get in! It was trying to go for Claus!

Claus was frozen in fear as the monster got another foot into the elevator and it's head soon squeezed inside. He jumped back and pressed into the corner of the elevator, his mind a mess as he watched the creature enter the elevator. Then he realized just what he was doing. He was cowering again. With a shake of his head he snapped out of the fear fueled paralysis induced by the creature. He was not going to let himself be eaten, nor was he going to let himself stay in this lab any longer.

The creature growled, crouched, and watched Claus with it's yellow eyes. It's tail whipped about for a bit and it's wings flapped as it stared Claus down. Despite it's hungry look, Claus didn't back down. He looked over to the elevator doors that were beginning to close. While Claus was looking at the doors, the beast lunged for him. Claus looked back at the oncoming beast, his heart stopping for a fraction of a second as he thought quickly. He jumped off to the side of the creature, his side slamming into the elevator's wall in his rush to escape. The beast was left to hit it's face against the corner of the elevator. It roared loudly, causing the elevator to shake, and began it's attempt to turn from within the claustrophobic elevator.

Claus' heart was racing as he pressed his hands against the wall and pushed himself towards the doors. He turned back slightly to see the creature nearly facing him, without another thought he slipped out of shrinking gap of the elevator doors and out into the hallway. He watched as he saw the beasts large tooth filled mouth open up to roar once more, and that was the last he saw before the doors closed.

He pressed a hand to his chest as he watched the elevator closely, feeling like he had just escaped certain death. A smile started to spread out on his face as he pointed at the elevator doors.

"T-Take that you overgrown l-lizard!" He shrieked happily. He let out a nervous laugh as he ran his hands through his hair.

And then there was a loud bang from the elevator.

Claus looked back up at the elevator doors and found them dented. Another bang was heard and he saw the doors being forcefully opened. He heard the aggressive and pissed off growling of the creature inside, and he knew he had to run. He turned and began sprinting towards the end of the hallway. He heard his heart thumping in his ears as his blood pumped furiously. Adrenaline and natural instinct fueled him to keep on running, his original plan was set into motion. Run for the exit.

He ran and ran past various doors, a flight of stairs, and another elevator until he saw a path that lead away from the hallway he was in. He turned his head towards the doorway the lead into the lobby of the labs and his heart fluttered for a moment, then it sank again.

The door was blocked up by furniture and various tables that were possibly dragged out from the other rooms he ran past. He cursed that fact and turned back to look at the way he came from. Soon he saw that bright red beast barreling towards him. Seems like it finally got out. He turned and continued running, not sure of where to go yet and the end of the hallway was in sight. He started to think of things he could do as he ran. Perhaps he could run into a room and hide, or maybe play dead once he got out of the creatures sights. Ideas fluttered through his head until he came across the second stairway of the hallway.

A happy little gasp escaped his throat as he turned and sprinted up the stairs, clearing two stairs at a time. He heard the beasts heavy footsteps drawing closer as it sprinted for him, but he didn't care once he reached the top of the stairs. His heart going a mile a minute, he ran for the elevator doors he saw just within reach. He skid to a stop at the elevator, his shoes squeaking against the cold tile floor as he slammed his hands against the elevators doors and began to frantically beat at the doors. The creature that so desperately wanted his blood began to scale the stairs and Claus could hear it's heavy breathing. He continued to beat and bang on the elevator doors, the doors not budging one bit nor giving under his hits.

From the corner of his eye Claus saw the beast emerging from the stairway and he knew he had to give up on the elevator. The beast let out a blood curdling roar that sent Claus into a panic. He looked about for some means of escape, and his eyes landed on the end of the hallway. There was a wide open door that led into another room, hopefully there was some kind of exit there. Claus turned and began to sprint to that open doorway, on his way there he tipped over a near by garbage can to hopefully hinder the beast in some way.

The beast however charged after him, it's little legs pattering against the ground caused the entire floor to shake a bit. It was dead set on sinking it's teeth into this small snack, even if it meant jumping over garbage cans. Claus however was a bit of a challenge to it; compared to the various pigmasks that had fallen victim to it's massive jaws, Claus was thin and agile, too quick for it's tiny legs to catch up. But, like most humans, Claus would give up eventually grow tired and then this creature would get it's small snack.

Claus' breathing began to sound more and more labored with every step, the events following this one took a lot out of this young boy. He slid into the bright red room and his eyes widened in shock as he slowed down a bit. It was full of skeletons, skeletons of creatures both familiar and strange. He didn't stay long in that room as he ran further into it and found another door closest to him. He turned sharply and threw that door open, then slammed it shut when he heard the beast's steps right at the doorway of the room he was just in.

The faces of dead animals greeted him when he stepped in and he felt his heart stop completely. The creatures he saw within this room were similar to the ones he saw down below, and they were posed as if they were standing absentmindedly. At first glance they seemed to be alive, but upon further inspection it was obvious they were dead. The strange spacey look in the eyes as well as the completely still nature gave that fact away. Claus pressed a hand to his chest as he took in this information. He dreaded the next door he saw across from him. There was a loud bang behind him, forcing him to stumble forward as he realized just how close this starved monster was.

He ran for the door. Both of his hands reached for the knob. He closed his eyes and tried to mentally prepare himself for perhaps more stuffed animals or even anatomical replicas of these abominations. Though what greeted him was not what he expected him.

The room was dim and it absolutely reeked of decay and rot. The only thing Claus could see were jars. He turned his head to look at the dented door that gave out right before his eyes as the creature slammed into it yet again. His breathing was labored as he slammed the door behind himself and sprinted into the room. He saw two tables and his instinct was to hide under them. He collapsed onto the floor and dragged himself under one of the tables. Now it was a waiting game as he hugged his legs to his chest. He tried to quiet down his breathing as he eyed the door.

There was a loud roar outside of that door, and then the banging came. It was outright horrifying as the glass from that door shattered upon impact. Shards were now all over the ground, but the beast didn't care as it continued to ram into the door. With each slam the door warped more and more, until it eventually came off its hinges.

Claus took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly, hoping the creature wouldn't find him. Sucks to be Claus then.

The monster waddled on over to the exact table Claus was hidden under. Claus could feel it's hot breath in front of him as he heard it's growling. The beast inhaled and let out yet another roar. The table he was seated under was pushed back by the beast's roar and various containers fell back and crashed onto the floor as a result of that. Claus opened his eyes and all he saw were those large teeth inside that crooked mouth that was almost smiling at him. Frozen in fear, Claus sat there and watched the beast open it's mouth. It was like looking into the void. The beast eased closer and Claus was certain he was going to die.

And then there was a shadow at the doorway and a flash of blue light illuminated the room. Blue sparks bounced off the creatures back, but that got it's attention. It closed it's mouth and turned to face what shot that blue beam at him while it snarled angrily and it's tail whipped about. Claus ducked to avoid getting whacked by the tail as he watched the beast waddle back out the door. He noted there was a rather large button on it's back, but he wasn't sure what it would do.

He sat back up once he saw the beast had left the room, though he heard various noises similar to a cannon being fired off and saw blue flashes that gave the previous room a blue hue. He staggered to his feet and sprinted to the door, curious to see what was going on. He was quite shocked at the sight before him.

The masked man from earlier, the one that wanted to forcefully change him, stood there trying to fend off this beast. His blaster arm was up and firing off blue orbs of pure energy, though it didn't seem to do anything except aggravate the beast. Said beast snarled loudly, gave it's tail a few flicks, and charged for the masked man. He didn't even seem the slightest bit fearful as he lunged to the side. The creature ended up ramming into the wall, causing the room to shake violently, enough to knock over a few of the taxidermied mutants.

Claus held his mouth open in shock as he watched his two main obstacles battle each other. And then he realized something. The path for the wretched open door was clear, perhaps he could… Claus didn't waste time as he sprinted past the dueling monsters and out into the fossil room. Despite the fight with the masked boy, the creature still hungered for the orange haired child. It turned it's body and shoved past the masked man and sprinted after the bolting boy. The masked man stumbled back and watched as it left his presence.

Claus felt his pulse quicken as the creature chased him down yet again, snarling and drooling as it's snack was just a few paces in front of it. He sprinted past the large drago skeleton and out into the main hallway where he came from. To his right he saw something that he was certain would lead him down the path to freedom. The other stairwell he passed a few moments ago. His little legs continued to carry his tired form, though he could feel the beast right behind him. He couldn't stay distracted or slow down, if he did he was certain to become demon chow.

He turned sharply into the direction of the stairs and the creature behind him slid to a stop just a bit aways from the stairs. He tried to take large steps down the stairs but his foot slipped off the edge of one step and it sent him tumbling down the stairs. He laid there about halfway down the stairs, his world spinning as he held the back of his head. Then the beast turned and stood at the top of the stairs, it's toothy grin smiling down at it's wounded prey.

It leaned back, released another roar, and pounced down the stairs. Claus could only curl up into a tight little ball. Oh how he felt pathetic. And then there was a loud thud and from between his arms he saw the red demon rolling down the stairs.

He gave the back of his head a few more rubs before he sat up onto one of the steps. What just happened? He blinked his tired eyes and reached up to the railing for support. The beast seemed to have stopped moving. It's eyes were rolled back into it's head, it's tail limp, and the button on it's back pressed. He heard the small bird on it's back twittering uselessly and he smiled, it having felt so long since he heard something as sweet as a bird's chirp. His mind started to wander as he took a few steps forward. Who pressed the button?

His answer came in the form of a few heavy steps and a large hunk of metal colliding with the side of his head from behind. All Claus heard was a loud crack and then everything went dark.

A bright light being shined into his eyes was what brought Claus back to his senses. He flinched at the pair of fingers holding his eyelids open and was surprised when they pulled away almost immediately after his flinch. He opened both eyes and was bombarded with a bright white light as well as what sounded like muffled speech. The more he blinked the clearer the picture was. Above him were a set of four medical lights and all four had a soft hum to them that signified they had been on for a while.

Claus took a deep breath and tried to turn his head to further look around, but he found his head was stuck in place. He gave it a few more attempts before trying to move his arms and legs and found that those too were stuck. His pulse skyrocketed as he started to struggle against his bonds, but a hand reached down to gently cup his cheek. His eyes turned upward to look at what was holding his face and he was greeted by the upside down face of an old man, it seemed to calm him down once he saw another human being.

"You're lucky I actually went ahead and checked!" He crowed at an unseen person, "If he was a vegetable then you would've had a useless monster on your hands!" There was a pause before he continued "Don't you give me that look, it's true! It doesn't matter how many robotic parts I put on anything, if the brain doesn't work, then nothing works!"

The bit of one-sided dialogue caused him to try and glance at the rest of the room, when that proved to be useless he made eye contact with the old man with white hair.

"You poor thing, caught up in this whole mess. Don't worry, I'll make this as painless as possible. You'll be a lot stronger than before, mark my words."

"I-I don't want to be made strong! I-I don't want to die! Let me go! I want to go home!" Claus shrieked as he strained against the leather straps that held him to the cold piece of metal he laid on. The old man reached out and slapped a hand to his mouth which muffled his screams for a moment until Claus bit down on his hand, getting a startled scream from him as he yanked that hand back.

The man glanced at the door, reached onto a near by table, and grabbed a syringe. He grabbed the syringe by it's glass barrel and lunged for Claus' open neck. Claus went still as he felt the needle a mere centimeter from his neck, followed by a cold liquid dribbling down the side of his neck. He started to feel a light numbing sensation, but it wasn't enough to panic over.

"Stupid kid. Should've stayed quiet." He heard the old man mutter under his breath. The sound of footsteps began at the doorway but they seemed to grow distant with each step. Then the old man sighed and dropped the syringe that had yet to pierce any flesh.

"I'm so sorry about that. I didn't mean to startle you that bad." He whispered as he grabbed a wipe and began to clean Claus' neck free of the contents of the syringe. "I hate operating on people let alone another child. I'm surprised Porky wanted another child slave."

"P-Porky?" Claus whimpered.

"Yes, 'King' Porky. Oh, where are my manners, I haven't introduced myself!" The old man said as he tossed aside the wipe. "I'm Dr. Andonuts, the man who was roped into this pickle."

"Y-You're the one behind the mutants?" Claus asked, his voice cracking as he feared this man was just as bad as Porky.

"Technically, yes. However, it is against my will. You see, I didn't want to be the mad scientist behind this, yet Porky dragged me from my world and into this one just so he could force me to work for him." He sighed as he began to undo Claus' restraints. "I'm so sorry you had to deal with that."

Once he was able to move again, Claus sat up and wrapped his arms around himself. Dr. Andonuts reached out to gently rub his shoulder.

"Y-You were going to turn me into a beast, w-weren't you?" Claus mumbled. Dr. Andonuts looked shamefully to the ground. "You were g-gonna turn me into that… That thing!" He pointed at the door, an angry frown on his face as he realized his humanity was mere seconds from being torn away from him. "T-That thing that walks around w-with my face!"

"Your face?" Dr. Andonuts inquired.

"Yeah, m-my face! He looks just l-like me! I don't know why but he does! H-He even has my hair style!"

Dr. Andonuts hummed as he looked to the door. "I've actually never seen him without his helmet. He never takes that thing off." He looked back at Claus. "Are you sure he looks exactly like you?"

"I'm positive! I-I knocked off his helmet and he… He had everything! M-My face shape, my eyes, my hair! H-He even had my nose!" He frowned and brought his legs to his chest.

"Do you have a brother by any chance?" Dr. Andonuts asked with a slight squint.

"Y-Yeah, but his name is Lucas." Oh God Lucas. In this entire mess Claus nearly forgot about his intentions to find Lucas. "He's a blond boy! With a red and yellow shirt! H-Have you seen him?" He questioned as his hands reached out to grip into Dr. Andonuts' lab coat.

"Can't say I have, but if I ever do I will let you know."

Claus frowned and pulled his hands away. It was a shame that Lucas hadn't swung by his place but it gave him a hint as to where Thunder Tower was. It wasn't anywhere near here at least. Oh who was he kidding, that was a stupid hint.

Dr. Andonuts patted his shoulder while he looked the boy over.

"You sure have gotten banged around. Are you feeling any better? How's your head?"

"My head? Oh! Uh, it's throbbing but it's okay!" Claus had completely forgotten about his well-being in his panic.

"Just be careful with it, you have quite a few knots around there. I heard from a little bird that you slipped and fell on your head." Dr. Andonuts mentioned.

"Sort of. I-I did fall and hit my head, but when I got up something knocked me out." He rubbed the side of his head with a frown. "I didn't see what it was, but I bet five bucks it was that robotic creep!"

Dr. Andonuts snorted as he pulled away from the table. "Considering he was the one that dragged you in by your ankle, I don't think you're that wrong."

Claus started to slide down the table but nearly collapsed when he put weight onto his ankle. It seemed like he sprained it during his fall, or maybe that mutant of a boy purposefully sprained it, who was he to tell. Dr. Andonuts reached out to gently take Claus' arm.

"Careful now. I think I know just the trick that'll help soothe all of this pain." Dr. Andonuts reassured him as he led him back to the door. He peered through the window to check if the coast was clear before leading Claus out. Claus hobbled behind him while his fingers dug into his lab coat for some kind of support.

Dr. Andonuts led Claus to the near by elevator and gave the doors two soft taps before they opened. Claus looked a bit dumbfounded. It took it two soft taps rather than several frantic poundings, who would've guessed. Both the scientist and his temporary acquaintance stepped into the elevator and the elevator's doors closed slowly behind them. There were three buttons this time, each one was labeled 1, 2, and 3. Dr. Andonuts pressed his thumb into the 2nd button and the elevator began to ascend.

"Say, I never got your name." Dr. Andonuts stated as he looked down at the boy who had kept to the other side of the elevator despite his limp.

"Claus. My name's Claus." He murmured and eyed the bright red number at the top of the elevator's control panel.

"Pleasure to meet you Claus!" He chirped in an attempt to get the boy to cheer up. It was no dice as Claus pressed himself against the wall of the elevator and raised his fists, he feared another one of those red demons was going to be right outside the elevator doors.

The elevator dinged once it reached the second floor and the doors opened oh so slowly. When there was nothing outside that wanted to tear into Claus he let out a sigh of relief. Dr. Andonuts held his arm out for Claus, who took it gratefully, and led him back out into the hallway. It was still barren and quiet, all that sounded down the hallway were his and Dr. Andonuts' footsteps.

"Those masked pigs aren't that scary." Dr. Andonuts thought aloud "Once you show you're stronger than them they back off permanently. The ultimate chimera got out earlier, so now they're all gone." He turned to look back down at Claus "I hope it didn't do too much damage around this place."

"Ultimate chimera? You mean that red beast?!"

"Why yes, I take it you got startled by it?"

Claus exhaled in an over exaggerate manner as he gripped his arm. "I think I had more than just a run in with it that's for sure! It wanted to eat me alive!"

"That's all it wants. It's never satisfied so it feeds on anything and everything. It looks like it didn't take a chunk out of you, so you're okay."

"Yeah but that was still scary! Can't you put that thing in a deep dark hole?!"

"We could, but Porky wants to keep it around just in case."

"In case of what?! His heart stops?! I don't think that thing can perform CPR, it's practically useless to that old fart!"

Dr. Andonuts chuckled as he led Claus past lockers and towards a small room that had a peculiar looking sign above it. He held his arm towards the door and motioned for Claus to enter.

"It's a hot spring Porky built for his men, though not many use it since they're always so busy. The spring has healing properties, once you take a dip all of those bruises and scratches will go away."

Claus nervously looked to the door then back at Dr. Andonuts.

"Don't worry, there's no one in there. Like I said, the place is deserted for the time being."

"What about the chimera? Where is that?"

"It's currently in it's new cage down in the basement. I doubt it'll climb back up here and find you so easily."

Claus frowned and reached out to turn the door knob. He opened the door and looked into the small room just before the hot spring.

"I have a plan, but you have to promise me you won't decline right off the bat. Give it some thought."

"What's the plan?"

"I'll tell you once you're healed up. Until then, relax." With that Dr. Andonuts turned and started towards some of the lockers that were on that floor. Claus sighed and slipped into the second room, but his worry seemed to melt when he was bombarded with a gust of warm and humid air. Dr. Andonuts wasn't lying, this really was a hot spring!

He was quick to start undressing, it started with his shoes and ended with his shirt and he left a comical little clothing trail leading up to the tub. When he slid into the hot spring's warm water he felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. His legs no longer felt weak and battered, his tummy was no longer full of knots, and his shoulders relaxed. He dipped his head under water for a bit and was surprised at how quickly the pain was alleviated. There was no longer a gnawing pain in about ten different spots on his head.

There was a knock on the door and Claus lifted his head back out of the water and submerged his body further in. The door opened and in walked in Dr. Andonuts with an arm thrown over his face and his other arm full of clothes while his hand held a pair of steel-toed boots. What a surprise that now he wanted to talk about his idea.

"I'm not peeking, don't worry! I'm here to tell you about our plan! Let me just leave this all here!" He claimed as he tossed the clothing onto the relatively dry floor and placed the boots beside that pile. He shuffled right after that and shut the door behind him. Claus gripped the edge of the hot spring's tub and looked at the pile of clothes Dr. Andonuts left. Oh those looked awfully familiar and he wanted to say no already, but he listened to Dr. Andonuts' suggestion to approach this with an open mind.

"Porky's awaiting your arrival." Dr. Andonuts began from the other side of the door "Sadly, you're going to have to pretend to be a mindless drone. The clothes I gave you is the masked man's extra set of clothes, there's a surprising amount of those here, but I need you to act as mindless and emotionless as he."

"But why?" Claus called out in response.

"Porky knows of your existence and he won't stop hunting you down until you're in his grubby hands. If you continue to run now you'll just keep winding up here, and maybe the next time you're here I won't be here to check your vitals."

Claus shuddered at the idea of being under the knife with a bunch of idiots behind said knife. He looked at both of his hands and felt grateful for having both of them.

"I'll go with you to Porky's lair. I'll tell him that you're in the process of being brainwashed so he doesn't try ordering you around just yet, that'll buy you time to find and possibly regroup with your brother Lucas."

Claus looked down at the clothes and frowned. He had to do it for Lucas. He grabbed onto the edge of the hot spring and climbed out.

"Since I'm coming along we have to take one of the pigmask's ships. I'm going to have to ask you to stay quiet and as still as you can during the ride over to Porky's tower. Do you think you could do that?"

"I can try." Claus responded as he walked, grabbed a towel, and proceeded to dry himself off. Once he was dry he looked sadly at his clothes and then at the new clothes he was given. He had to do this for Lucas. He took back his underwear and socks and went about putting on the strange uniform; first it was the undershirt, then the pants, followed by the jacket, boots, and gloves.

Now that he wore the uniform he began to feel uneasy. He felt like this just wasn't him. He felt stuffy and adult like, like his child-like mischievousness was wiped away just by dawning this dumb jacket. Though, he had to endure it. He gathered up his clothes into a sloppy pile that rested in his arms and he walked forward. He opened the first door and was greeted by Dr. Andonuts, who held his arms out for his old clothes.

"I'll take those and put them away for when you return back to the labs. I promise you, you won't stay in those clothes for long." Dr. Andonuts reassured him as Claus handed him his striped shirt and orange shorts. He stepped out of the room and held the door open for Claus.

"Just wait here for me, I'll go ahead and notify the pigmasks to get their ship ready so we can leave here as soon as possible. Until then, work on pretending to be a statue." And without another word, Dr. Andonuts was off.

Claus' brows furrowed and he pressed his back to the wall. He stared down at the floor by his feet, not sure of how to really pull off being a statue.

Then the elevator dinged.

He jumped up and stood straight, his head tilted upward as he stood in what was his form of 'at ease', and he looked quite silly with his arms pressed stiffly to his sides. Then walked out the familiar masked man. His heart started to pound as he heard the masked man's boots as he walked out of the elevator. The masked man then turned his head in the direction of where Claus stood.

Claus swallowed hard as he watched his slow moving form step closer and closer. He kept his eyes on the wall in front of him to try and maintain that 'statue' form Dr. Andonuts mentioned. Though, he unconsciously shuddered when he saw the masked man's face just at the corner of his vision. He felt the icy cold stare he was getting as the masked man looked at him from head to toe.

His knees started to tremble when he felt the masked man lean even closer, close enough that he could feel his breathing. It was like he knew. Though, the close proximity only lasted a moment before the helmet wearing creature turned on his heels and started back towards the stairs at his slow pace.

Claus let out a sigh of relief and turned to stick his tongue out at the masked man's back, but he froze up when he saw the masked man sharply turn back around. Claus turned his head back around and pulled his tongue back in just in time for him not to see him mocking him. The masked man squinted from behind his visor, stared for a bit, then turned back around and started down the stairs.

Claus just flirted with death right then and there for the second time. He looked down the hallway where he last saw Dr. Andonuts walking.

It was going to be a challenge, but he was determined to pull through.

For Lucas.


	3. Plan In Action

"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Dr. Andonuts mused when he returned to an oddly still Claus that had his shoulders rolled back and his chest puffed out. Claus immediately dropped the pose and turned to Dr. Andonuts.

"Thank god you're back, that thing got so close to me!" He shuddered and crossed his arms over his chest.

"That thing?"

"The dude with my face, uh, that masky dude." Claus pointed at his face for extra emphasis and made a motion to try and draw out what he recalled of the mask that was so close to him not too long ago.

"Masked man, that's his name. Though, unless you're Porky, he won't respond to anyone calling him." Dr. Andonuts grumbled, quite annoyed at that fact.

"Not even you?" Claus asked in disbelief.

"Not even me! Porky's got him trained to listen to him and only him, it's very infuriating. Especially when he decides to rummage through my possessions mere seconds after Porky orders him to." Dr. Andonuts said roughly and approached the stairs. "He leaves quite the mess and doesn't bother trying to clean up what he tossed off the desks. I would complain to Porky himself, but last time I did I ended up having to wait three hours while he destroyed my office. I'll have to say, I never heard Porky laugh so hard until that day."

Claus snickered and walked along side Dr. Andonuts. He attempted to shove his hands into his pant's pockets, though he soon found out that these pants didn't have the deepest pockets like his shorts had.

"Like I said Claus, you won't be in those clothes for long, as long as you follow my instructions." Dr. Andonuts started to step down the flight of stairs. "Don't smile, don't frown, don't show any emotions, and don't speak. If anything look like you're bored."

"Like this?" Claus lowered his eyelids about halfway and he looked quite silly doing so, he looked like he was more zombie than kid. Dr. Andonuts stopped half-way down the stairs, turned, and nodded.

"Yes! Exactly like that! Try to keep that face while we head out. Remember, no speaking." He waggled his finger at Claus and continued down the stairs.

Claus closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and walked beside Dr. Andonuts while maintaining the bored expression. They both reached the final couple of steps and waiting for them in the hallway that led to reception area stood the green suited pigmasks. One major noticed the two coming down the hallway and he turned to an unseen colonel.

"Sir, they're coming!" He stated.

"Perfect! Get the doors to the ship open, we shouldn't waste time! You remember what happened last time we were late!" The colonel reminded the rest of his troops of that dreaded day. The day they accidentally stormed into Porky's throne room three hours late and found their king flirting with his own robotic clone. It was a strange day indeed and it showed with the awkward shuffling of the other majors that lined the rest of the reception room.

Dr. Andonuts and Claus both turned into the hallway and finally into the room that the majors were lining. Dr. Andonuts continued to walk forward while Claus began to lag behind. The fear that these majors would gang up on him like before gnawed at the back of his mind; he didn't want to be too far into the room in the case that this was just a very elaborate ambush. Dr. Andonuts noticed Claus' sluggish behavior when he glanced to the side and saw that Claus was gone. He turned back around and motioned for Claus to speed up.

"S-Sorry, you know how fresh chimeras are, all drowsy and brainwashed. He'll be fine in no time and ready to serve our king!" Dr. Andonuts sounded worried as he placed a hand against Claus' shoulder once he came close enough and began to escort him out the door that was held open. He leaned down and whispered into Claus' ear "You're almost there. Just keep it up, you're doing great." and pulled away. The pigmasks were a bit confused by Dr. Andonuts' movement, but they didn't question it too much. He was the scientist after all, without him the king's plan wouldn't have been possible.

Once outside Claus took in the fresh air and looked around to see a few pigmask majors, though he did see a few of the lower pigmasks. A regular pink pigmask ran up to Dr. Andonuts and blubbered out about the ultimate chimera.

"Is the chimera gone now? Can we go back inside?" The pigmask sniveled while he gripped onto Dr. Andonuts' lab coat collar.

"Yes, the chimera has been locked up. Next time don't provoke it into attacking!" He said bitterly. The pigmask turned and pointed at one of the few pink pigmasks that were off to the side.

"I told you not to do that Harold, but you did it anyways!"

"I didn't think it'd get that pissed off!" The one named Harold whined.

"Well it did, and it's all your-"

"Can we please save this for later!" The caped colonel bellowed with his commanding voice. "The king is calling for these two, we can't keep him waiting!"

The other pigmasks nodded and the good handful of pink pigmasks waddled back into the laboratory. The five majors that were inside walked outside and joined the rest of the green pigmasks, which totaled to about eight majors. The colonel huffed happily, turned, and marched all the way to the large ship that sat just a bit away from the lab, then the majors all trailed after him. The following majors that stuck to the back of the mob nudged Dr. Andonuts and Claus along just to make sure they didn't dawdle too much. Claus swallowed hard and reached out to grip onto Dr. Andonuts' arm, the daunting size of the ship and the presence of the pigmasks finally got to him.

"Don't worry. The sooner we get there, the sooner we get out, and the sooner you get to look for your brother." Dr. Andonuts mumbled as he gently shook his arm to get Claus to release it. When Claus released his arm he placed a hand onto his shoulder. "Whatever you do, don't panic."

Claus closed his eyes and nodded. He collected his thoughts and calmed himself down before pulling on the same bored expression Dr. Andonuts advised him to wear.

It didn't take too long for everyone to board the ship, the platform was down and had been prepared for the large group, ready to leave once everyone was on. Oddly enough there was a red carpet that had been laid out that lead up to the platform, and Claus couldn't keep his eyes off of it as he stepped all over it. He didn't know the carpet was always pulled out whenever the commander was traveling with the group.

Once the pigmasks, Dr. Andonuts, and Claus were all inside the ship, the platform was retracted and the doors were shut, and sadly the carpet was left behind. Dr. Andonuts walked forward and took a seat on one of the provided benches while the pigmasks stood around with their hands at their sides. Claus followed Dr. Andonuts and took a seat beside him only to get scolded.

"Claus, no, you're supposed to stand, not sit down." Dr. Andonuts whispered as he pushed at Claus' back. Claus frowned as he was pushed from the bench, the little scuffle caused a few pigmasks to turn to look at Claus, all a bit suspicious of the boy. Claus' eyes widened a bit as he stood just before the seat and puffed out his chest to seem like he was standing at ease. Soft whispers began to float through the air as the majors all questioned the validity of Dr. Andonuts' original statement. Was the boy properly operated on or did Dr. Andonuts fudge something?

Claus could feel himself tense up when he noticed out of the corner of his vision that the masked man was staring at him. Right by the two men piloting the ship he stood, as still as if he was made of stone. Admittedly Claus almost didn't notice him at first glance, the lack of movement didn't draw any attention to him, but upon further inspection the ominous presence was hard to ignore.

"Sir, we are now switching to autopilot." One of the pilots stated as he flipped a lever. After a small moment both pilots slid away from the controls and stood from their seats. Both pilots stood and strode over to the colonel that stood proudly at the center of the ship.

"We should be arriving at the Empire Porky Building in no time, sir." The human stated and placed his hand against his forehead. His fellow pilot did the same and the colonel laughed happily.

"Good! That'll show the king!" The colonel called happily as he stole a glance at the masked man that was preoccupied with watching the fraud of a commander. A few other majors snorted and squealed with the colonel, content that they were finally getting what they wanted in the end; a bit of praise from the king for doing their job right.

Claus tried not to look at the masked man but he couldn't help his wandering eyes that glanced at the masked man out of both curiosity and fear. Each time Claus made eye contact—or at least what he thought was eye contact—the masked man grew more and more suspicious. It was beginning to show that something was wrong with Claus, or rather, something _wasn't_ wrong. Claus was awfully energetic, almost twitchy, for a 'fresh chimera' as Dr. Andonuts put it. It was off and the masked man knew it.

Though, despite the masked man having his doubts, he didn't intervene. Instead he watched how the boy reacted to the pigmasks harassing him.

"So, what'll we call this one?" A major inquired as he stood to the side of Claus. "Commander 2.0?"

"No way, he's no where as good as our current commander, let alone any better!" All eyes looked to the masked man before returning to Claus.

"How will we tell the difference between them?" Another major asked as he reached out and gripped onto Claus' chin to get a better look at the sides of his face. Claus tensed up and fought off the urge to bite the pigmask's fingers right then and there, though his jaw did clench in response.

"Oooh, he's still a feisty little guy!" One pigmask teased as he pinched his cheek. "Look at him getting all tense! Hey Doc, shouldn't you have scrubbed his brain clean?"

"It's still in the works, brain washing takes a lot more time than you think." Dr. Andonuts replied coldly "Now leave the boy alone."

"Yeah, leave him alone, _Harold._ Don't wanna end up being chimera lunch do ya?" A major teased from across the ship.

"I am not that stupid! Only idiots tease the ultimate chimera!"

"Well what if we have an ultimate chimera on our hands right now!"

Claus allowed his eyes to glance over the majors, and all of the majors just laughed at him.

"As if this puny thing could actually pose as a threat!"

"I could kick all of your butts." Claus muttered under his breath, but Dr. Andonuts stood and threw an arm over Claus' chest before the majors could cause a big fuss over the fact that the boy spoke.

"Step away from the chimera. I don't want you morons influencing him to be as stupid as all of you!" Dr. Andonuts ordered, and the majors stepped back as they were told. Though once separated from the boy they began to talk among themselves.

"Did you hear that?"

"I think that thing just talked!"  
"Something's up and I don't like it."

"Do we tell the commander? What about the king?"

"O-okay let's not jump to conclusions." The colonel mumbled as he shuffled into the small circle that had formed a bit away from the two passengers. "Let's just get them to Porky and he'll handle it from there."

The pigmasks all nodded as they broke apart from the circle to steal glances at Claus. Claus' brows furrowed unconsciously as he stared ahead, quite miffed that he had been so rudely grabbed at for a second time. Didn't anyone here actually understand the concept of personal space?!

Though, something caught Claus' eye and he couldn't stop himself from looking over. It was a set of screens arranged in a sort of square, all of which looked like black and white security footage. His eyes darted from screen to screen, the scene there all looking far too foreign. There were sights of operations on wildlife, experimentation, and even the occasional sleeping pigmask, all of it taking place in various places he had never seen before. And then he noticed something that caused his heart to beat fast.

He spotted in one of the camera feeds a very familiar striped shirt sprinting past.

"Lucas." He mumbled softly to himself as his eyes widened. He felt like a weight was just lifted off of his shoulders, he was so happy that Lucas was alive and well. And, oddly enough, accompanied by three other forms. He recognized Boney right off the bat, it was hard not to, but the other two people he couldn't tie a name to just yet. He remembered seeing them in his youth, and he recalled vividly when Lucas and he called a drago out to save them, but he barely recollected who they were. Kumo… Kumadora? Kumitori? Kumatora! That was her name! She was the fabled princess that belonged to the Osohe castle! Yet the name of the man that walked with a limp still didn't come to him.

He watched on in awe, a small smile appearing upon his face as he beamed. Then his face went slack when he noticed that Lucas and friends were stopped by a pigmask.

"No." He mumbled softly in disbelief. "No no no this can't happen." He whispered, and he watched as Lucas and friends were tugged along towards an area that the camera didn't cover. Why didn't Lucas fight him? Why did he go in so willingly? Why didn't any of his friends stop him?!

"C-Claus, relax." Dr. Andonuts said in a low voice as he placed a hand onto his shoulder. Claus looked away from the screens and glanced at the majors who were all staring at him. The ship went quiet, spare for the faint tune that played through the loud speakers located outside of the ship, and everyone tensed up. Except the masked man.

"He's… He's just hopped up on ketamine." Dr. Andonuts stated blandly. Before anyone else could even take a breath to speak, an automated voice disrupted the tension.

"We are now landing. Landing gear dropping down now." Said a monotonous voice as the ship hovered over the landing pad. The pilots that had pulled away from the windows and ran back to take the ship out of autopilot so they could land it themselves. The autopilot still couldn't quite land itself just yet, it'd need a few more tweaks here and there before it could, but at least it could drive itself to New Pork City!… And only to New Pork City.

The landing itself was rather bumpy; the ship's sides grazed the protective railing set around the landing pad and the jerky movements rendered a few majors nauseous. Eventually the ship landed, much to the relief of everyone on board. It wasn't perfectly centered on the bright pink pig nose marker, but it didn't look like anyone was going to complain about that. The doors to the ship opened and the platform was laid out for everyone, then the pigmasks began to panic.

"W-Where's the carpet?" Asked a major.

"What do you mean 'where's the carpet'?" The colonel growled out as he stood by the exit. "Don't tell me you idiots _left_ it!"

There was a moment of silence. Then the colonel slapped his hand against the side of his mask and groaned.

"That was the only carpet we had on this ship and you idiots leave it back at the labs! Why am I even surprised!"

The masked man however didn't seem all that upset by the lack of carpet, instead he walked on past and stepped down onto the platform and stepped off before anyone else. The colonel stood there, gobsmacked at the fact that the commander just left without anyone needing to unroll the carpet. The majors all looked at the colonel and one even put his hands on his hips.

"The commander's fine, it's not like he's allergic to the floor! We don't have to take the carpet everywhere!"

"...If he blows up I'm blaming all of you." The colonel spat angrily before getting off of the ship. The other pigmasks looked at Dr. Andonuts and Claus both and Dr. Andonuts stood from his seat. He gripped onto Claus' shoulder and led him back out the exit of the ship. Once down he whispered to Claus yet again.

"You need to be more careful, you made everyone suspicious back there. We're going to be seeing Porky now, remember what I said, and this time try to keep your brother in mind. Maybe it'll help ease your nerves and make it easier for you-"

"Is that thing really brainwashed as you claim?" The colonel interrupted Dr. Andonuts' pep talk, obviously stating the thing that was on every pig's mind. The other majors began to pile out of the ship, unknowing of the question the colonel asked.

"I didn't say he was brainwashed, I said he was in the process of it. Brainwashing takes time." Dr. Andonuts whispered to the colonel who drew closer.

"Regardless of brainwashing, why was he talking like that? Is he really brainwashed?"

"Yes, he is! I can assure you it's just the drugs talking. After I operated on the masked man he was the same way until the drugs wore off. Just don't listen to him until he's begun taking orders from Porky himself."

"I'm going to keep an eye on him Doc, he's acting too strange for all of our tastes."

"So be it, it's understandable that you don't trust him right off the bat, but all I ask of you is that you don't touch him. He's in a vulnerable state of mind and anything that might startle him may cause him to go rogue, and I know we all don't want that."

The colonel stood in silence for a moment as he thought about Dr. Andonuts' words. The masked man however grew tired of the standing around and walked forward. The colonel looked over at the moving commander and he followed, to which the majors followed as well. Dr. Andonuts sighed and took Claus by his wrist as he followed along. Claus glanced down at his hold on his wrist and then back up at Dr. Andonuts.

"You're close Claus, stick by me and it'll all be over soon." At this point it sounded like Dr. Andonuts was reassuring himself more than anything. The fear of Claus getting found out and forcibly operated on started to worry him, especially since he knew that the pigmasks would probably go overboard changing poor Claus. If it weren't for the fact that Porky was moderating the masked man's changes, they would've turned him into a horrifying beast rather than given him a few perks.

The group continued their trek along the metal road and they took a turn that led further up the strange 'city'. Claus looked around this new area; he looked at the unvaried landscape, the working pigmasks that were almost ignorant of the traveling mob, and, when it finally came into view, he looked up at the Empire Porky Building. That was the same building he was dragged to before by the masked man. Now that he could look at it from a ground perspective, he could say that the building was a lot more ominous from below.

They all stopped before two escalators and looked between the two. The escalator to the right had a red arrow that pointed away from the escalator, and the escalator to the left had a blue arrow that pointed towards the escalator. Most of the pigmasks stopped to look at the signs, though the masked man kept walking and went straight for the left escalator. Dr. Andonuts and Claus both followed after the masked man, then the majors trailed after in a bit of an embarrassed huff. Once on the moving steps everyone stood still and allowed for the automated machine to carry them across a large gap, except the masked man. The masked man continued to step up the escalators, thus getting further ahead from the group. A soft ring was later heard once he was close to the top, and it turned out to be his phone.

The pigmasks below softly mumbled among themselves at that.

"Who's calling him?" Asked the colonel.

"Isn't the king the only one with his phone number?" Inquired a major.

"No, most of the other colonels have that number, but as far as I know no one should be ringing him."

"Do you think something went wrong at Thunder Tower?"

"No, if something did go wrong then the king would call us as well!"

As they spoke the masked man reached the final stretch of the escalator and hopped onto the landing plate. He continued to stride forward without any regard for the group that followed behind him.

"What's going on?" Claus whispered to Dr. Andonuts. Dr. Andonuts could only shrug in response, not even he knew what was wrong with the masked man.

"Something tells me Porky's up to something." Dr. Andonuts blurted out loud, which caused the majors to look at him.

"What makes you say that?" The colonel grumbled.

"Don't know, it's just a gut feeling. Maybe he's changed his mind about having a second chimera child."

"Why would he change his mind? It's another slave to do his bidding, what more could he want?"

Dr. Andonuts looked to the colonel and scoffed. "He has all of you! You're all practically his slaves, remember! The masked man is just a bit closer to his cold dead heart is all, he possesses a power you all don't have, that's why he has him so close to him at all times."

"Then what about that one? Why does he want that one?"

"I don't know, I don't see anything worth while with him. If anything I might have wasted medical supplies on him."

Claus side eyed Dr. Andonuts, who brought his hand up to rub at his shoulder.

"Maybe there's something there that he sees. Hopefully he lets me operate on him some more so I can examine his features better."

Sector A7 looked between the two guests as they fell quiet. It didn't take long for the entire group to reach the top of the escalator, and each person stepped onto the landing plate with ease. A bit away from the escalator the masked man stood with his back to the group, his hand sliding down to slip his phone back into a hidden belt he kept under his jacket. The group stood awkwardly, awaiting any new orders from the masked man. The colonel then spoke out at the masked man.

"What did Porky say? Does he want something done or does he want us to go back?"

The masked man turned back around to face the group and his eyes scanned each and every person before landing right on Claus. Claus flinched at his deathly stare, but the flinch didn't stop the masked man from gazing. Then the masked man strode over to Claus, his steps heavy as he kept his eyes locked on Claus and his blaster arm behind his back. The entirety of Sector A7 stepped back in fear while Dr. Andonuts gripped into Claus' shoulder, not sure of what the masked man wanted.

And then the masked man extended his hand out to Claus. It wasn't a hand shake or an invitation to kiss the back of his hand, but instead his palm faced upward and stayed at a low level for Claus to take. Claus looked down at the hand then back up at the distorted mirror before him, not sure of what to do. The masked man's cold stare turned into a hard glare the longer Claus didn't take his hand, and it soon hit Claus of what he wanted. Though, like hell was he going to take his hand. Instead, in an act of silent rebellion, he slid his hands behind his own back and blew some air at the masked man's face. He did not like that one bit.

The robotic boy glared at Dr. Andonuts and used his hand to wave him away, and without hesitation he released his hold on Claus' shoulder and slid back to join the cowering group. Then the masked man glared at Claus, pulled his blaster arm back down to his side, and lunged at Claus. With the barrel of his blaster and the palm of his hand pressed to his chest, he pushed, and that sent Claus sprawling onto the floor. The pigmasks that stood a bit away gasped and stepped further back, now certain that Dr. Andonuts was right, perhaps Porky didn't want another child. Dr. Andonuts sprinted forward and tried to separate the two boys.

"Masked man, no!" He said sternly as he gripped onto the cold boy's shoulder to tug him off. "Bad boy! Bad boy!" He scolded. The only response he got from the masked man was a metal wing to the face that knocked him flat onto his butt. Claus looked like a deer caught in headlights as he looked up at the masked man, who sneered down at him and hovered for quite some time. There was a sharp yet low sound, almost like a gurgle that came from the masked man, and then Claus felt something wet dribble down his forehead.

The masked man just spat on him, and Claus was horribly disgusted by that fact.

Before Claus even had a chance to wipe his face off, the masked man turned around and gripped onto his ankle. Then his wings fired up and they were off.

"D-Dr. Andonuts!" Claus cried out while he watched the ground grow distant with every passing second. Dr. Andonuts rubbed where the wing clipped his face and sat up, then looked up to Claus' shrinking form.

"Stay calm Claus! I'll be there soon!" He shouted, stood, and sprinted for the building. The pigmasks all stood, shocked at the events that just unfolded before them. The first to move was the colonel who gave chase.

"Come back here you traitor!" He called and reached for his gun, soon the majors all trailed after with an upset squeal.

Claus on the other hand was upset beyond belief. For a third time he was whisked up by his ankle and dangled precariously hundreds of feet from the ground and he never had a say on whether or not this occurred. He brought his other foot up to kick at the masked man's hand while he wiped the spit from his forehead.

"You bucket of bolts, let go of me! You're nothing but a disappointment, a disappointment that grey creep likes!" He screamed at the masked man, his shrill voice reverberating faintly in the distance. It soon came to him that the masked man wasn't going to let him go, so he went with plan B. His eyelids lowered, his leg went still, and he went quiet as he pulled on a bored expression; he had to listen to Dr. Andonuts' advice even if he wasn't around.

From that point on there was nothing but the sound of the masked man's, but the masked man didn't seem to like the white noise. He looked down at his captive who didn't even bother to look back at him, and quite frankly he was confused by this display. He gripped his ankle tightly and gave him a good couple of shakes to try and rouse some kind of reaction from him, but it proved to be useless as Claus kept that bored expression. The masked man frowned but averted his attention back to the building, specifically the top floor that was now coming into view.

Porky sat within his bed and twiddled his fingers as he waited for his pet's arrival. The call that the masked man took was indeed from Porky himself; the call however had just been an order to bring the boy to him as soon as possible, so the masked man took a few liberties. Porky grinned to himself when he heard the familiar sound of the masked man's wings, and his spider-like bed soon turned to face the large window. When he saw both boy's forms just outside, he snickered.

"The window's open, and I'm being serious this time!" He called out just as he had before. The window that the masked man previously broke was repaired in the time that they were gone, and fitted with a large opening glass door for the masked man. It was wide open, and the masked man didn't falter to fly on in. He landed just a few paces away from the large bed and dropped the boy onto the cold metal ground, and Claus had a vague sense of Deja Vu from it. Yeah this all occurred before, but still, it was weird.

"So, how's my new pet doing?" Porky purred as he leaned forward in his bed. The masked man reached down to pull Claus up onto his feet by the scruff of his new jacket as his wings retracted. Claus' expression changed for a split second as he shot a scowl at the masked man, but it was replaced by the blank stare before the masked man could notice the flickering expression. The sound of the mechanical legs of the bed echoed in the large room as Porky eased closer to the two.

"I see you have new clothes, how cute! Now you two are matching! All you need is a helmet and actual robot parts." Porky grumbled out that last sentence, and Claus' heart started to beat fast. Did he know?

"Don't act like I don't know about you and Andonuts' little trick!" Porky stated and Claus struggled not to shrink under his stare. "Just drop the act already, I saw everything through the cameras!" In reality Porky was just told by one of his colonels that busted in the moment he saw Dr. Andonuts escorting Claus to the hot springs from the camera feed.

Claus however was willing to stick with this act for a bit longer. He still had some type of hope that he would be returned to the chimera labs and set free.

"...So you want to do this the hard way, hm?" Porky wheezed out as the bed stepped closer. Once he was close enough, he leaned forward and gripped onto the bed frame for support while he loomed over Claus.

"If you're going to pretend to be a slave, then I'll treat you like a slave. Look at me when I'm talking to you!" He barked. Claus' eyes glanced over at Porky before they glanced away. Porky groaned and tutted softly.

"Of course, you're still a disobedient little boy aren't you? You'll have to be broken some way." He mumbled. One of his hands reached out and gripped onto Claus' chin tightly, then forced his head upwards so Claus could look at him, though Claus still kept his gaze off to the side. "And I'll break you, mark my words." He threatened lowly. Claus couldn't stop himself from shuddering at both the icy hand and his threat, his heart was going a mile a minute in that moment.

"I wonder how Lucas would react if he found out you were here." A wicked smile spread out onto his lips as Claus finally looked him in the eyes. "I think he'd hate you, wouldn't he? He would feel so betrayed that his own brother joined my army and helped destroy his village."

Claus' brows furrowed at the lies that Porky spilled out.

"And what about your parents? That cowboy certainly has disowned you by now! He probably despises even thinking about you!"

"That's not true." Claus mumbled softly despite the grip on his jaw. Porky grinned and squeezed.

"And your mom probably-"

"You leave my mom out of this!" Claus shrieked as he tried to yank his head away from his cold grip. As he struggled with Porky, the masked man slipped in behind him and looped both of his arms under his pits and held his arms back. Claus shouted out of anger as he brought a leg back to try and kick at the masked man's legs. Porky laughed and pulled his hand away, then sat back in his bed.

"It seems that you have a soft spot for mom! Shame she's disappointed in you too! She hates you, hates you with every fiber of her being! She wishes she never gave birth to you!" Porky continued and he watched with great mirth as Claus tried to aim some kicks at the bed. Tears of frustration started at the corners of Claus' eyes as he did so, his own underlying fear finally being brought to light.

"Your entire family despises you, Claus. They wish you were dead. Why would you want to protect a family that doesn't even love you any more!" Porky sounded condescending as he leaned closer to Claus.

"Y-You're just lying to me! My family still loves me and you're just trying to get me to join you! News flash, it won't work!" He shouted in response, then struggled against the masked man's grip.

"If I'm lying then why hasn't Lucas come to save you yet?"

There was a moment of silence as Claus went still. That was a good question that Claus didn't dwell on too much.

"B-Because he doesn't know where I am!" He responded, his voice growing weak as doubt started to fill his mind.

"That's what you think." Porky replied heartlessly as he leaned back against his bed. Claus slumped back against the masked man as tears trickled down his cheeks. He didn't want to believe what Porky said, but he did bring up a good point. Why wasn't Lucas looking for him?

The elevator broke the thick silence as it dinged and it's doors slid open. Out stumbled Dr. Andonuts who was out of breath from running across several floors to get to the next elevator. He wheezed and wiped away a bit of sweat that beaded on his forehead as he looked at the scene before him. He didn't even have a chance to speak out before Porky interrupted.

"Andonuts, glad you could join us!" Porky chirped happily as the spider bed turned around to face the scientist. "I absolutely love the new slave you made for me!"

"What did you do to him?" Dr. Andonuts replied harshly as he looked at Claus' teary eyes and wet cheeks.

"Don't worry about it, I think it's just the drugs making him act all strange." Porky clasped his hands together and grinned.

"What do you mean Porky?"

"I mean your plan backfired horrendously!" Porky snorted. "I thought you were smarter than this Andonuts, but obviously you're not! Did you seriously think that playing dress up with the masked man's clothes would turn him into a mindless slave?" Porky paused to take in some air. "That's like… A new level of playing pretend! Little Miss Marshmallow would love to have your imaginative mind keeping her company. How about you pay her a visit, Andonuts?" Porky's lips curled into a sinister smile as the elevator doors dinged yet again. Out hobbled four very exhausted pigmasks, one colonel and three majors.

"F-Freeze Dr. Andonuts! We have you c-cornered!" The colonel shouted before he and his crew collapsed out of exhaustion. Porky started to fume within his bed at the sudden collapse.

"You imbeciles! Get up, I'm not paying you to lay around like useless slobs! Take Dr. Andonuts to Thunder Tower, now!" He ordered, and Claus perked up at the mention of the tower. That's where Lucas was! Porky then coughed out rather harshly at the fact that he had strained his voice by yelling. With a hand to his throat he watched as two majors scrambled to their feet and charged at Dr. Andonuts. Without another word both majors grabbed onto one of Dr. Andonuts' arms and began to drag him back to the elevator. Dr. Andonuts didn't seem to protest, but he did stare wistfully at Claus. Oh how he wished the plan had worked.

Once Dr. Andonuts and the four pigmasks were piled into the elevator, the doors closed and the low hum of the working elevator filled the room for a moment. Porky snickered and turned his bed back around to look at the two twins before him.

"It looks like your only friend has been stolen away from you, what a shame!" Porky mocked and crossed his arms over his own slow rising chest.

"Y-You're a monster!" Claus cried out as he tried to shove the masked man away to no avail.

"As if I hadn't heard that before! Come up with something new Clausy boy!" He leaned back with a choked laugh "Boy, you're going to be a lot of fun to mess with!"

"I just want to go home!" Claus whimpered as he weakly kicked out at Porky, tears of homesickness started to trickle down his cheeks. He wanted to be back with Lucas. Back where he wasn't being constantly grabbed and accosted over every little thing.

"But home is where everyone hates you! Where everyone makes fun of you and calls you a crybaby!"

"The c-crybaby is Lucas, not me!"

"Could've fooled me!"

"Lucas doesn't even cry that much anymore!" He screeched in frustration as he slumped forward. "He's big and strong now a-and he's gonna kick your butt the minute he finds out you're behind all of this!"

Porky smirked and looked to his beloved masked child, who looked back the minute he noticed the stare from the bowl cut king.

"My sweet little Masky. Oh so obedient and… Empty. Please escort your new brother to Drago Plateau, for old times sake." Porky purred.

"He's not my brother and he will never be my brother!" Claus shrieked as his will to fight was reignited. Though, the masked man wasn't willing to deal with Claus' tantrum. He released his hold on his arms and shoved him forward, then reached down to grab his ankle yet again. Without a second thought his wings expanded and they zipped out of the large open window, taking back into the skies.

As Claus dangled he let his mind wander for a bit. Was Lucas okay? The last he saw of him he was headed into a strange building and was taken away by a pigmask. Oh god how he hoped he was alright, he had to be alright. Lucas wasn't easily swayed into being evil no matter how much stress he was under, Lucas was stronger than that. Or at least, he hoped he was.

Claus was then shaken from his thoughts, literally. The masked man didn't enjoy the growing trend of the boy that stole his looks going deathly quiet, so he took it upon himself to try and get some sound going from the boy. So, just as he had before, he gave him a quick shake, and luckily got a reaction.

"Stop doing that you weirdo!" Claus shouted angrily and brought a foot up to kick at his hand again. The masked man glared down at Claus, but for once Claus stopped once he got a glare from him. He sighed deeply and looked back down at the world below, he watched the zooming landscape that looked so much more depressing than before, like the life had been sucked out of it. The masked man gave him yet another shake to rouse a bit more anger from him, but was slightly surprised when the boy didn't respond one bit. He finally gave up on shaking the boy and continued on flying through the skies.

"You're so weak." Claus murmured under his breath at the masked man. The masked man looked down at the boy, his face blank as he seemingly paid attention to what he had to say.

"You actually listened to Porky. You fell for his tricks and listened to him. You let him dig into your mind and you let him change you." Claus' eyes looked up at the masked man. "You're not me. I wouldn't fall for his stupid schemes that easily. You're a fraud, a monster, a creature that just stole my face."

The masked man looked away at the last sentence and Claus hung there, trying to figure out whether or not his message got through to the dude with the helmet. He let out a soft sigh and looked back down at the landscape, and he recognized where they were. They were flying over Tazmilly, and Claus was overcome with a wave of sadness. The village looked so much more depressing from above, since from up there he could actually see the changes that the village underwent. And then he saw the house he and Lucas both lived in.

Around the area there were large black craters, and the roof was riddled with different types of wood due to repairs. He felt a small fire burn inside him as he tried to figure out just what happened while he was gone. Whoever did this was going to pay immensely. Though, the scenery soon changed as he was whisked over the forest he lost Lucas in, and then he was dangled over the familiar orange scene.

It was the same area that he lost his mother three years ago, and he still remembered that fateful night like it was yesterday. The growl of the drago, the fact that his mom pushed him and Lucas into the river, and then mom's scream. He then recalled the anger that overcame him after his mom was buried; the desire to destroy the drago that killed his mother filled his mind the day after while Lucas cried at her grave. Oh how he missed her so much.

It took a bit of flying, but soon the masked man landed onto a higher bit of the plateau, near a rock formation. He hovered for a bit as he released his hold on Claus' ankle and allowed him to drop down in a heap onto the floor. Claus groaned in pain as his head was hit yet again, but he sat up and stood as soon as he could. The masked man landed beside him and retracted his wings, it was strange that the masked man was giving Claus space.

Claus was slightly content at that fact, finally feeling a bit more liberated now that he didn't have him breathing down his neck. He stood awkwardly and stared at the masked man, not sure of what to do now that he was there. He could try and make a run for it, but the masked man blocked the only safe way down the plateau.

"Why are we here?" Claus grumbled as he looked around "Did you just bring me here to torment me?"

The masked man didn't respond as he stared at Claus, as blank as he had ever been.

"Why am I even asking you, you don't talk, you don't think, you don't do anything but get angry and listen to your stupid king. You're as useless as those stupid pigmasks." He hissed, hatred starting to fill his tiny form. He stood in silence for a good moment before his anger started to get the best of him, and he curled his hands into fists.

"I should kill you where you stand." He snarled. The masked man glared at him and stepped back before getting into a fighting stance. With his blaster raised and his hand curled into a fist as well, he was ready to tussle. Claus turned to face him and squared up.

"Glad you're ready to get your butt kicked!" He yelled as a large grin spread out onto his face. But before he could even swing, a large roar interrupted their fight. Claus dropped his hands and looked forward, where he heard the roar come from. And then there were heavy steps that caused the ground to shake. The masked man dropped his stance as well and looked at the rock formation. His hand reached out to his side, almost grabbing at something that was hidden away.

More steps, more growls, and then Claus felt his heart stop when he saw a creature emerging from behind the rock formation. It was a drago, a singular, green, and untouched drago. It seemed so familiar and he struggled to put a name to it. The drago turned to face Claus, and it's eyes seemed to brighten when it saw him. Then it hit him. It was the baby drago the two older dragos had, but now it had grown up.

"I… It's you!" He cried out in happiness, and the drago before him roared. Though, it wasn't an aggressive roar, it was a rather content roar, as there was a chirp right after the roar. The drago wagged it's tail as Claus' eyes began to water.

"You're so big now! Oh my god I didn't think I'd ever see you again!" He sobbed out, then held his arms out for the drago. "C'mere ya big oaf!"

The drago chirped happily and quickly sprinted for Claus, it's large steps causing the ground to rumble as it ran. But then the masked man lunged in front of Claus, shoved him away, and drew a golden sword from a hidden sheath. Claus landed on his side and watched in horror as the masked man held the sword at the running drago. Then he swung the sword, and suddenly lightning came out of the sky and struck the drago.

The drago let out a pained cry and stumbled back at the lightning shock. Claus stared at the drago then scurried back onto his feet. He reached out and shoved at the masked man, causing him to stumble back.

"W-What are you doing?! Dragos are friendly creatures! Don't hurt it you- you- ass!" He shrieked angrily, finding the curse fitting for the moment. If Flint found out he'd probably eat soap for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. The masked man glared at Claus and pointed the sword at him, then at the drago. Claus' eyes widened at that.

"No! No I am not hurting a poor drago! That drago's my friend and I won't hurt it. I won't let you hurt it either!" Claus then lunged at the masked man. It proved to be a mistake as the masked man turned the sword slightly and whacked Claus upside the head with it. He used the flat side of the blade as to not actually slice Claus up, so it was the equivalent of getting hit with a metal stick. Claus stumbled back and held his aching head, then he heard another lightning strike.

When his vision cleared and he looked up, he was petrified at the sight of the poor drago getting struck with lightning yet again. The drago let out a pained cry as it set it's sights on the masked man, then charged at him. Claus then heard a cannon go off and watched as a blue orb of energy hit the poor creature in the chest. The drago backed off after earning itself a dark spot on it's chest and it turned around sharply to avoid getting hurt by the creature that was much stronger than it. The masked man was not willing to let it run away so easily, so he gave chase.

"Stop! Leave it alone!" Claus cried as he followed after the masked man, not ready to let him kill the gentle giant. The drago roared out of fear as it ran around the large rock formation and sprinted out towards the open area before it. The masked man drew his blaster and fired up another charge. The energy orb hit the poor drago in the back, sending it sprawling out onto the floor. Claus cried out a few more obscenities as he ran up and shoved at the masked man.

"I said leave it alone you idiot!" He screamed. The masked man pulled away from Claus and drew his sword. Claus didn't even seem to care as he lunged for the masked man. The masked man darted away and swung his sword, this time using the blade to make a small cut along Claus' cheek. It was a threat, a threat that the masked man could stab and kill Claus if he wanted to. Though, that threat seemed to fall on deaf ears as Claus lunged again, disregarding the cut on his face.

The masked man jumped back, took his sword, and whacked Claus upside the head again with the flat end. Claus collapsed onto the floor and held his head with his hands, almost certain that at this rate he'd get a concussion. The masked man took his chance and sprinted right for the drago that was struggling to get back up. He held his sword high and, once he was close enough, he slashed at the drago's leg.

The drago let out a cry as it flopped back onto it's stomach, the large gash that was given to it by the masked man's sword started to bleed profusely. It seemed that drago fangs were no longer the only things that could pierce the beast's hard skin. Though, he didn't stop there. He stepped a bit closer to the now weakened drago, drew his sword again, and stabbed it through the drago's side. Another piercing cry left the drago's maw as blood started to trickle out of that wound as well.

Claus struggled to his feet and stood up, no longer being able to take the pain of sitting by uselessly. He turned and ran towards the masked man, tears in his eyes as he tried to stop him. But it was too late as the masked man scaled the drago and plunged his sword into the drago's back. Another weaker cry came from the drago and Claus was certain he had killed it. He skid to a stop and stared at the masked man, not sure of what to make of it.

Tears began to pour out of Claus' eyes as he stared at the masked man's back.

"Y-You… You monster!" His voice cracked as he screamed "You monster! Why?! Why did you have to kill it?! It did nothing wrong!" He shrieked "It protected you when you needed help, it kept you company when you were lonely, and it even saved your butt from pigmasks! Why did you kill it?!" Claus' voice gave out on him as it dissolved into hiccups. The masked man turned around and stared at Claus, not sure of what the boy was on about. If anything, the drago was just another beast that needed to be killed. It tried to attack him, why did it deserve to live? The masked man slid down from the drago's back and strode over to Claus. Claus however was none too happy with him, and despite his teary eyes, he brought a hand back and swung at the masked man.

The masked man growled lowly as he was decked in the jaw, but he didn't seem to feel any remorse for harming the drago. He brought his sword out and whacked Claus' knee with the flat end, sending him to the dirt yet again. This time though, he grabbed him by the back of his jacket and dragged towards the drago's motionless body.

"L-let me go you freak! You monster! You creature from hell!" Claus spat as he kicked up some orange dust as he was dragged. The masked man didn't care about the insults as he dragged Claus closer to the drago. As he was pulled closer to the drago's face, he heard something that made his heart sink. A growl came from the drago as the masked man came into it's vision, signifying that it was still alive. Upon further inspection, Claus noticed that it was breathing shallowly. The tears continued to fall from Claus' eyes as he stared at the drago's pained expression, and he bit his lip as it squeaked pathetically at him once it laid it's eyes on him. The masked man released his hold on Claus and left him to sit before the suffering drago.

"O-oh no… Oh no no no, please. Put it out of it's misery!" Claus hiccuped as he reached out to gently pet the drago's snout. "It doesn't deserve to suffer. It didn't deserve this!" Claus cried out as he pressed his forehead to the drago's nose. The drago's tongue flickered out and it licked the side of Claus' face oh so weakly. It didn't want Claus to cry, but it seemed like Claus wasn't going to stop crying any time soon.

The masked man sheathed his blood stained blade and used his now free hand to take Claus' arm. Claus tried to shake his arm free, but he had no luck. The masked man pulled him up to his feet and pointed down at the pathetic drago. Claus sniffled pathetically as he weakly shoved at the masked man, he didn't like where this was going.

"I-I'm not… I'm not going t-to finish the job." He whimpered as he tried to walk away, but the masked man held an arm out to stop him from going too far. He pushed at his arm and the coldhearted boy only dragged him back to the drago. He then pointed at the drago's pathetic face, and murmured out the first words Claus had ever heard him speak.

"PK Love."

Claus looked at him, bewildered that he'd even say something like that. That was his main attack, the attack that was awoken inside of him by a magypsie, why would he have to… Oh. His eyes looked back down sadly at the poor drago whose eyes began to water.

"B-But… I can heal it. I-I don't have to kill it, I-I can just-"

The masked man shoved at his shoulder angrily.

"You aren't going to let me, are you?" He mumbled softly, then took a deep breath. The drago's head turned slightly to look directly at Claus. "I-I'm so sorry little buddy. I-I really am. J-Just know I still love you, o-okay?" Claus sounded outright broken as his voice wavered with each word. He brought his hand up and listened to the pathetic squeaks the drago made as it tried to chirp happily at Claus. Claus swallowed hard and closed his eyes in concentration.

Energy inside of him flowed and he felt his heart flutter as he summoned his signature attack that both he and Lucas shared. PK Love. The air around him was peppered with pink specks of energy as he unleashed PK Love α. There was a bright pink flash that lasted for a small moment, and then everything went still.

Then the drago let out one final chirp before closing it's eyes. Permanently.

Claus dropped down onto his knees and the tears started anew as he pressed his face to the top of the drago's snout. Years of playing with this sweet creature as well as it's parents came to mind. He recalled when he used to ram into the father of this drago, and how it pretended to get hurt, but got back up just fine. Oh how he wished the same could've been said for this poor soul.

The masked man stared at Claus' shaking form, not sure of what to do now that the threat had been eliminated. He stood there, waiting for Claus to finish his crying.

It felt like an eternity that Claus sniveled and sobbed into the drago's face, but finally Claus stood and wiped his tears away onto his sleeve. The masked man pulled away and stepped out towards the rock formation. Claus shuddered and trailed after him, still horribly upset at the villain.

"W-Why? Why did you make me do that? W-Why couldn't you have killed it yourself?" He sniffled and stood beside the masked man. "Do you just want to see me in pain? Is that it?" He shoved at the masked man "Well, I'm in pain! I'm in pain and I hope you're happy!" He started to yell. Though, the masked man didn't respond as Claus wanted him to. Instead he just stared at something off by the rock formation.

Claus' eyes wandered over to look for the same thing that the masked man was looking at, and then he saw it. A beaten up blue shoe. He took a deep breath and ran towards it, then picked it up and examined it. This looked awfully familiar, in fact, it looked like… His old shoe from when he was younger. Claus held the shoe within his hand as he tried to process the bits of information he had. He was forced to be here, the masked man had an undying want to kill this drago, and there was a blue shoe from his childhood. It didn't take long for the pieces to connect.

"You went after the drago, didn't you?" Claus asked as he gave his back to the masked man. When there wasn't a response he turned around. "You went ahead and tried to take on the drago, didn't you?!"

Claus became outright livid as he threw the shoe down. "You tried to fight the drago that killed mom and lost, huh?! You abandoned Lucas and dad over a drago, didn't you?!" He stomped over to the masked man.

"You idiot! You dummy! You- You- fuck!" Another coin for the swear jar. "You left your brother alone to fight a stupid monster and lost! Then got lost and whisked away to join Porky and friends! God, am I glad I'm not as stupid as you!" He snarled. "Lucas actually stopped me before I could fight it, and boy am I happy he did." He brought a hand out to jab a finger against the masked man's chest. "Cause I sure as hell would not have wanted to end up like you! A cold idiot that doesn't know right from wrong!"

Suddenly, Claus' face began to feel hot and he started to feel faint. His cheeks flushed and he stumbled back, not sure of what was going on with him. He held a hand up to his forehead as a throbbing pain overcame his senses. He felt… Feverish.

As Claus struggled to find his bearings, the masked boy's phone rung out. He stepped back and dug into the hidden belt to pull out the phone. He pressed a button and held the phone up to the side of the mask; despite it being in the way, he could hear surprisingly well.

"S-Sir, prepare for an emergency pick up! The boy and his friends have gotten to Thunder Tower and Fassad needs assistance!" That voice was that of the colonel from sector A7. The masked man mumbled into the phone and hung up shortly after. His wings sprung out and he quickly took Claus' ankle in his hand. He held on tightly as he sprinted off the edge of the plateau and jumped off, his wings still not producing their usual flames as he and Claus both fell. Claus tried to scream, he really did, but the pain in his head just didn't allow him to.

The wings then roared to life, and both boys rocketed up into the sky. The masked man made plans to meet halfway with the pigmasks to help Fassad, hence the sudden flying. Sweat started to trickle up Claus' forehead from the delirious heat he faced. He cursed softly under his breath as he rubbed his eyes with the bases of his palms, his vision going slightly fuzzy. Feeling feverish sucked.

The boys both flew over fields, the small town of Tazmilly, and even passed the chimera labs, though Claus was a bit too preoccupied with his predicament to really admire the scenery. However, both boys started to fly over a large highway, and Claus uncovered his eyes long enough to notice the new scene. How long was that thing there? It must have been built right under everyone's noses, or so Claus assumed. The sights of a large pink blob down at the bottom of the highway got him curious; just what was that? A very fat pigmask? A big bubble gum bubble? Boy did he have questions. They passed over bridges and other dusty areas, and he even noticed a pit off in the distance. Everything seemed so much more dim around this area.

His sightseeing came to an end as another sound filled his senses. It was the sound of a distinct thump-thump that began to grow deafening as the masked man drew closer to it. He glanced upward and saw a helicopter hovering just a bit away from the masked man. Once close enough, the masked man didn't hesitate to climb into the helicopter. He tossed Claus into the helicopter first, which startled the awaiting pigmasks inside and made Claus groan in pain, and then he stepped in. His wings retracted once he stepped inside, and the colonel closed the helicopter's doors behind him.

"Glad you could make it sir, Fassad's been taking a beating but he should be waiting for us!" He held a hand to his forehead in a salute. The masked man nodded and loomed over Claus for a bit. Claus moaned loudly as he rubbed his head, the fever still not having passed. The masked man reached over, grabbed the scruff of his jacket, and dragged him over to a seat. The pigmasks all watched in awe as the masked man scooped the boy up into his arms and sat him down in a seat. He then pulled away to join the pilots.

Claus' head throbbed as he looked forward, then out a near by window that was near the seat he was placed in. He felt a cold shiver overcome his body, so he brought his arms around himself and shuddered. The helicopter was nearing it's destination, and Claus could see it clearly. It was a tower, just like the name had said, and there was a large yellow orb that sat atop it. The gun that came from a hole in the center, and it looked quite daunting, but Claus didn't care for that. From his perspective he saw four ant-like forms, one of which he set his eyes on. The one he kept an eye on had swirly yellow hair and a stupidly bright striped shirt.

Lucas, it was Lucas! Finally, he could reunite with Lucas! His heart started to beat fast. He watched as the helicopter hovered swooped down low near the yellow top, and the pigmasks inside opened the helicopter's doors and rolled out a rope ladder. Claus sneered at the fact that Fassad was there, but he was willing to deal with anything as he stood from his seat. The pigmasks, being too preoccupied with the rescue mission, didn't notice Claus' approaching frame. Though, as Claus stood to hobble on over towards the open doors, he missed seeing Fassad slipping on a banana peel and falling off of the tower.

Inside the pigmasks all squealed and panicked among themselves, which startled Claus, but it didn't take long for the colonel to bark out orders at the pilots.

"Higher, fly higher!" He yelled. It was too late. The red snake that called itself "Rope Snake" latched onto the ladder, and the group of four all hung onto Duster's waist as they were hoisted into the air. There was a deafening explosion as the tower's golden orb erupted, and it drew Claus' attention enough for him to look out of the doorway. When he saw the brown haired man's face down below, followed by the other familiar faces, Claus beamed. Then the name he was missing finally came to him; Duster! His name was Duster! He shoved the colonel aside and stood in the opening of the helicopter. His eyes immediately landed on Lucas, and Lucas gasped.

"Is that..." Kumatora asked in awe as Lucas' eyes widened.

"Duster! Kumatora! Lucas! Boney!" Claus cried out their names as he saw them, then he tried to reach out for Duster's hand. God was he happy that Duster's name finally came to mind, but he was even happier at seeing his twin. "A-Am I glad to see all of you! You have to he-help me!" Claus yelled so his voice would reach the group of four. "I-I'm being held ca-cap-" Before Claus could finish his sentence, the masked man sprinted over, lunged, and wrapped an arm around Claus' neck.

"Claus!" Lucas cried out as he tried to climb over Kumatora so he could get closer to the rope ladder. He hadn't seen his own brother for three long years, and now that he got to see him and hear his voice again, he wanted him back. The sights of some random goon assaulting his brother only served to piss him off as he gripped onto Duster's pants line.

"Let him go!" Lucas ordered angrily as Kumatora grunted under his weight and Duster panicked at Lucas' attempts at getting closer. The masked man didn't seem phased by the blond boy as he continued to man handle Claus.

The group of four all watched as the masked man threw Claus off to the side, then the helicopter's doors were slammed shut. Lucas started to rush forward, he gripped onto Duster's shoulders and accidentally kicked Kumatora in the face when he tried to lunge for the rope snake. But it all proved to be in vain. The masked man sprinted to the pilots and barked out an order.

"Get them off!" He bellowed, the loud and commanding voice silenced the panicking and squealing pigmasks. The single pilot nodded and gripped onto the helicopter's cyclic stick. He proceeded to jerk it to the left and to the right, effectively shaking the unwanted passengers that hung just outside of the door. As the group snapped back and forth, the snake's jaw grew weaker. It didn't take long before a loud snap sounded outside. The snake's jaw had dislocated, and that sent the group of four plummeting downward.

Once the pests were effectively knocked off, the pilot steadied the helicopter. Claus laid on the floor, a hand to his throat as he looked up at the masked man who loomed over him. A stream of curses were at the tip of his tongue, but Claus bit said tongue before he cussed the masked man out. Worry started to fill his mind as he looked out towards the window, but from his position on the floor, all he could see was sky. How he hoped Lucas was okay. That must have been a big fall for everyone involved.

The masked man sneered down at Claus, grabbed the front of his shirt, and tossed him back onto the seat he placed him in before. He was going to have to deal with him later, but for now it was time to return back to Porky to tell him what had just happened. Claus frowned and placed his head in his hands, another wave of heat over came him, but then everything cooled down. His cheeks stopped flushing, he stopped sweating, and the delirious heat came to a sudden end. His fever had passed.

Claus learned PK Love β!


	4. Sunflowers

Lucas' eyes fluttered open. He gasped for air and sat up, his vision blurry as he awoke from something that felt surreal, almost dream-like. He saw his sibling, the same sibling that had disappeared three years ago shortly after he lost his mother. He blinked and brought his hands up to rub his eyes, then found his eyes were wet with tears. Lucas rubbed the base of his palms against his eyes and grumbled softly, the vision of the helicopter that contained his brother returning. Then came the sight of his beloved brother being yanked away by some weirdo in a mask. A surge of energy coursed through Lucas as he was filled with rage. How dare they take his brother?! How dare they hold him captive?! These questions all floated through his head as he came back to his senses.

Lucas sat up and looked around to get a look at the scene before him. He found that everywhere he looked there was a bright yellow flower to fill his sights. Sunflowers. He was in a sunflower field, a field full of the flowers his mother loved so much. Lucas pressed a hand to his knee and stood up, looking at the expansive field of sunflowers that seemed to go on forever. He took a deep breath and took in the fresh air around him, feeling relaxed; it almost felt like his mother was frolicking through these fields.

Then Lucas heard a bark off in the distance. His eyes darted off to where he heard the bark, and he let out a whistle.

"Boney? Is that you?" He called and cautiously stepped over towards the patch he heard the bark from. The flowers rustled and out popped Boney's sweet brown face. Lucas' eyes lit up and he laughed as he sprinted over towards Boney.

"There you are boy! Oh thank goodness you're alright. Where's Kumatora and Duster?" Lucas asked as he rubbed Boney's head. Boney let out a whimper and a message echoed in Lucas' head.

'I don't know, they separated from us when we fell' the voice in Lucas' head said solemnly. Lucas looked up and gave the field another scan.

"Where do you think they went?"

'Somewhere far away. Would you like me to walk you there?' Boney responded. Lucas chuckled softly to himself and rubbed the top of Boney's head. It wasn't everyday that you were gifted with the ability to telepathically talk to animals.

"We need to go get Claus!" Lucas said breathlessly and Boney barked in glee. Boney then turned his head sharply and stared off into the distance. Lucas furrowed his brows in confusion and looked off to where he saw Boney look to, yet he saw nothing. Boney yelped out and jumped out of the nest of flowers to sprint off into the sunflower-y distance. Lucas blinked in confusion and glanced around to make sure he and Boney were alone. He didn't see anyone near by, so he found Boney's sudden outburst to be outright baffling. He looked back to where he saw Boney run off to, and found that he was gone again.

"Boney?" Lucas called out. When he got no response from his beloved brown dog, he cupped his hands around his mouth and called again. "Boney?! Where did you go?!"

There still wasn't a response from Boney.

Lucas huffed and sprinted after where he saw Boney headed to, all the while calling his dog's name. "Boney? Boney what's wrong? Did you see something?" He shouted, not sure if his verbal messages were getting to Boney. "Now's not the time to play hide and seek! We have to find the others and rescue Claus!"

"Lucas." A soft voice spoke out. Lucas turned around to where he heard the noise and found that no one was there. His brows knitted as he struggled to understand just what was going on.

"Lucas." He heard that voice again, and turned right back around to look in front of him. Still nothing. There was a tense moment of silence as he listened closely to try and find the source of the voice, but then he heard barking. His eyes widened and he started to run further into the field where he heard the barking.

"Boney! Boney are you alright?!" Lucas called as the barking began to grow louder with every step he took. Eventually he came across a rustling patch of sunflowers, and upon further inspection, he saw Boney. With a sigh of relief he dove down and wrapped his arms around Boney, then pressed his face into Boney's back.

"Don't run off like that, boy! You could've given me a heart attack!" Lucas teased and scratched the back of Boney's ear. Yet, Boney didn't seem to react to that as he stared off into the distance. Another bark left his mouth and Lucas looked up.

And then he saw her.

Lucas' eyes gazed up at the ethereal form of a painfully familiar face. His mother, Hinawa. She smiled warmly down at him with her rosy red lips and placed her clasped hands in her lap. She looked exactly like she did before she died, beautiful and happy. The wind began to blow, and Lucas watched as her hair and dress flowed ever so elegantly, just like he remembered her. He rose up to his feet and stared, his mouth agape as his small heart was filled to the brim with happiness and love.

"M-Mom?" Lucas stammered and stepped forward towards the form of his mother. She giggled softly at her son's surprised face, then turned around and started to walk away from Lucas. As she walked, Lucas could faintly hear chimes within the wind that blew around them.

"Mom! Where are you going?" Lucas called and walked after her, but in the blink of an eye she was gone. Lucas stood there once he saw that her form had disappeared, and then he began to question whether or not what he saw was real. He rubbed his eyes yet again, and when he opened them he saw her again. She was further away than before, but she was facing him again. One of her hands reached out and she motioned for him to follow her, then she turned away and continued walking through the field of sunflowers.

Lucas, now with tears in his eyes, smiled and sprinted for her. Boney trailed after, all the while barking happily as he chased after Lucas. As Lucas got closer to his slow moving mother, he could faintly hear her humming something. It was the lullaby she used to lull him and Claus to sleep when they were younger, it was the song of Love. The thought of finally being with his mom again caused his small heart to beat, but then Boney yelped.

Lucas skid to a stop just in time to see where the sunflowers gave away to a sharp cliff. Boney stopped beside Lucas, his own eyes watching as Hinawa continued to step towards the cliff.

"Mom, no! Stop!" Lucas cried out and took a few steps further as he watched her near the cliff. "Y-You're going to fall!" He shrieked.

Hinawa stepped off the side of the cliff, but she did not fall. Instead she seemed to walk on air as she continued forward. Lucas watched in awe as she seemed to step up some stairs. Once at the top of the invisible stairs, Hinawa turned and looked down at Lucas and Boney.

"I missed you so much," Lucas heard her soft voice flutter through the air "I want you to know that I love you very much, Lucas."

Tears began to trickle down Lucas' cheeks as she spoke, and he felt inclined to start a conversation with the ghost of his own mother.

"I-I missed you too! A-And… And I want you to come back!" Lucas sobbed.

Hinawa didn't respond as she hovered there, her warm smile still plastered on her face as she looked down at Lucas. Lucas wiped at his tears and held his arms out for her. She mimicked the motion and unclasped her hands to hold them out to her sides, ready for a hug despite their distance.

Lucas stepped back and sprinted towards his mother. Boney barked and chased after him in an attempt to stop him, but it was too late. Lucas jumped off the edge of the cliff, his arms out stretched to try and reach her, but he still fell short. He watched as she disappeared from his sight and he was left to fall down to the Earth below.

And then everything went dark.

When he awoke, Lucas found himself in a pile of hay. He gasped for air once he saw the blue sky and sat up, his heart jump starting as he thought he had died.

"Lucas, boy am I glad you're okay!" He heard a familiar voice shout from the bottom of the hay stack. He looked down and saw his beloved Uncle Alec and grinned.

"Alec, it's you!" Lucas called, and due to his voice finally joining the others, a bark was heard. Lucas watched as Boney jumped out and circled Alec's legs before sitting beside him. It seemed Boney had awoken before Lucas did.

"Your mom was in my dream last night." Alec said in a hushed voice as he helped Lucas down from the hay pile. "She asked me to put hay right there. I didn't know why, but I decided to listen to her." He helped Lucas dust himself off as he sighed. "Guess she saved your life, huh." He smiled warmly at Lucas, and Lucas returned the smile. As they shared the moment of silence, another voice joined the conversation.

"Don't take all the credit, she was in my dream too." Wess grumbled as he walked over to the boy and his uncle.

"Wess! How did you get out of the old people home?" Lucas asked, then leaned down to rub Boney's head.

"Easy, I snuck out! Just cause I may be old doesn't mean I've forgotten how to sneak around!"

All three shared a laugh before Lucas jumped up and gripped onto Alec's arm.

"I have good news, I saw Claus!"

"What?! You saw Claus?!" Alec asked in awe. The last time he saw Claus was mere moments before he decided to run off and fight the drago. From that point on, he hadn't seen hide nor hair of the young boy.

"Yeah! He's being held captive by the pigmasks, and last I saw him was up in a helicopter! I-I don't know where it was headed though, but I saw him!"

"We need to go find Princess Kumatora and Duster, then together you can go rescue your brother." Wess sounded hopeful as he stepped aside to let Lucas walk down the dirt path.

"Let's hope they're near by." Lucas mumbled. He whistled in an attempt to call Boney, but Boney didn't respond. His ears were slightly raised as he listened, barked, and then ran off. Lucas watched as Boney ran off, and he trailed after.

"Boney, where are you going?!"

Boney was going on an adventure.


	5. A Light In The Dark

The helicopter's blades came to a slow stop once it landed on the pink pig nose-shaped marker. After the helicopter was powered down and the pilot stood, there was nothing but silence. Everyone within the helicopter reflected on the events they all had just witnessed; Fassad's death, the explosion of Thunder Tower, and the possible death of four hero's. Not a single squeal or snort slipped past any of the pigmask's mouths as they thought, and then a single major spoke.

"So, who's going to go tell King Porky?"

The helicopter then erupted in panicked squeals and babbled speech. The idea of telling their iron fisted king that almost everything went awry seemed to make even the strongest of men quake in their boots. Well, spare for the masked man, who seemed almost too calm about the events. It didn't take long for the masked man to find his commandeering voice again.

"Silence!" He roared, and the helicopter fell quiet once more. All eyes were on him at that moment, including poor Claus who was horribly startled by his voice that was far too loud for his small body. The masked man's eyes scanned each and every pigmask before stopping right at the white caped colonel. The colonel swallowed hard as his eyes met the masked man's gaze, fearing that he was chosen to be the bearer of bad news. His fears were confirmed when he watched the masked man raise his only hand to point at the colonel.

"M-Me?! Why me?!" The colonel cried, "Why not you?! You'd up get there faster than all of us!"

The masked man took one step towards the colonel, and the colonel immediately began to cower.

"O-Okay okay, I'll do it!" He whimpered as he tossed his hands over his head.

The masked man shot a bitter glare at him. It seemed like these pigmasks needed to be put in their place every other day, sheesh. As the helicopter started to buzz with conversations on how to word the events, the masked man strode over to the small ginger he tossed earlier. Claus frowned at the approaching masked man and gripped into the seat he was placed in.

"Are you here to grab me by my ankle again?" Claus growled, mocking the masked man for the past couple of transportation choices he made. He raised a leg and motioned for the masked man to take it. "Just know, the more you dangle me the more I'll get used to it. Then I'll be able to kick your butt in air!"

The masked man stared blankly at Claus. Claus squinted at him and lowered his leg.

"...You look like a dead fish." Claus whispered under his breath.

The masked man's face curled into a sneer as both stared each other down. It didn't take long for the masked man to swing his blaster at Claus. Claus flinched and raised his arms over his head to protect himself from any possible whacks, but the masked man's blaster didn't connect with Claus' head. Instead he brought his hand out to grip at the back of Claus' jacket collar. With a silent heave he yanked Claus from his seat and onto the floor, his grip on his jacket remaining strong as he started towards the doors of the helicopter.

The helicopter went quiet while the pigmasks all watched as the masked man dragged the gingersnap from his seat. Claus kicked and squirmed with all of his might, despite his arms still tossed over his head.

"L-let me go you stupid clone!" He shrieked, but his order fell upon deaf ears. The masked man didn't even glance back at him as he looked at one of the near by majors and motioned towards the helicopter's doors with his blaster arm. The major swallowed hard and strode over to slide open the doors of the helicopter, and with that, the masked man jumped out of the helicopter with his load in his hand once again.

The pigmasks inside didn't even bother questioning where he was headed with the boy, but the loud roar of the masked man's wings gave them a clear idea as to where the masked man was taking Claus.

The colonel stared at the open doors wistfully, almost trying to stall on visiting the king. A fellow major reached out to gently tap his shoulder to bring him back to reality.

"We shouldn't keep him waiting. I'll go with you." He whispered, then gently gave the colonel's shoulder a push. The colonel reluctantly stepped out of the helicopter, and the supporting major follow suited. The rest of the majors poured out, but kept their distance from the two pigmasks that were headed towards their untimely deaths.

"Oh boy, what will the king say?" The colonel whimpered.

"He's gonna be angry, obviously, but just stay cool. Let him throw his tantrum, and everything will be okay!" The major assured him.

"But… But what will I say? D-Do I tell the tr-"  
"That's up to you to decide, I'm only following you to provide moral support!" The major squealed. The colonel frowned behind his mask and continued up the street. Both pigmasks turned into the cardboard cut out 'city' and took the near by escalator, making sure to take the right one with the blue arrow pointing upwards. Once at the top of the escalator, they looked at the front doors of the Empire Porky Building. The major placed a hand onto his arm.

"Hey, look on the bright side, at least you enjoyed the last moments of your life on the ride up!"

"You're so pessimistic!" The colonel cried as he yanked his arm away from the major's hand and stormed inside. The doors swung open automatically, and the colonel waddled into the empty lobby of the building. The major trailed after, snorting apologies that the colonel simply ignored. The colonel turned right, towards the room that had an oddly shaped sign above the doorway, similar to that of a hot spring sign.

This building held many secrets within it's 100 floors, and this secret was one out of thousands. Not the hot spring that is, that wasn't a secret. What _was_ a secret was something only the commander and the pigmasks knew about. The colonel stepped into the room and glanced around the humid hot spring room, eyes searching for the one thing that was off about the room. He walked across the room to the other side, and gave the lamp that hung there a turn. The lamp turned with ease, and as it turned, a hidden doorway was revealed.

The major stood at the hot spring's entrance and watched as the colonel stepped into the doorway, which gave way to a hidden elevator that lead directly to the 100th floor. The colonel kept the hidden doorway open as he tapped at the elevator doors. Without any warning the elevator doors opened, and the colonel turned to look at the lagging major.

"Well, aren't you coming?"

"Yeah, give me a second." The major called out as he shuffled across the room to join the colonel. Except he didn't. Instead he grabbed the turned lamp and slammed the hidden door shut, then turned the lamp right side up again.

"W-What are you doing?!" The colonel cried as the hidden door was shut and the room became substantially dimmer.

"You really think I'm going to face him after what we've done? Heck no, that'd be suicide! You're on your own from this point on, buddy!" The major mocked from outside. After he cleaned his gloved hands from the dust on the lamp he marched off.

The colonel sighed, turned towards the closing doors of the elevator, and slipped into the elevator, his stomach just barely grazing the closing doors. Once he was in the red display of the floor number flickered on and with a jolt the elevator began to climb upwards towards the 100th floor.

The colonel twiddled his fingers nervously as the hum of the elevator reverberated within the spacious lift, his mind buzzing with ways to word this huge blunder. Perhaps he could sugar coat everything? No, Porky would find out instantly. Maybe he could just tell him straight up? Psh, Porky would feed him to the ultimate chimera if he just told him straight up. The colonel brought a hand up to tap at his chin as thoughts raced through his head.

Lost in thought, the colonel didn't realize how quickly the numbers ticked. 55…56…57….They continued to climb oh so quickly, and the colonel stood there, unaware of it all. It wasn't until the elevator dinged that the colonel was brought out of his thoughts, and he looked up in terror.

He reached floor 100.

The elevator doors slid open, and the colonel stared at the decaying body of his king laying within his strange crib just a few paces away.

"I heard you were coming, my sweet little metal bird told me you had news for me." Porky purred. The colonel glanced behind Porky's large spider machine and clocked the masked man standing towards the window, almost staring out of it. The colonel stepped out of the elevator and swallowed hard, then saluted.

"Y-Yes sir, I do have news." He said, his voice wavering.

"Well, what is it? Tell me, I can't take the suspense anymore!" Porky laughed, then nearly doubled over as coughs wracked his old body. The colonel took in a breath before continuing.

"We found the blond boy and his friends within Thunder Tower."

"Yes? What else?"

"U-Uhm… They. T-They sort of escaped..."

"...Escaped?!" Porky shrieked, which caused the colonel to shrug his shoulders and drop his salute.

"Y-Yes, escaped… They got past the defense systems a-and… Exploded the tower." Looks like the colonel was taking the truthful route. Porky laid back in his bed, knowing the news was too shocking for his old and decrepit heart.

"You let them get past the defenses?!" Porky screamed then hacked once his voice cracked in the middle of that outraged question. The colonel turned his head off to the side as Porky continued to cough. "You idiots! I can't believe you let him get away for a second time!"

"That's not all, sir."

"There's more?! What else did you mess up?!"

"F-Fassad sort of… Slipped off the top of Thunder Tower before it exploded." The colonel ducked his head and scratched the nape of his neck. He heard his king take a few deep breaths as everything went quiet. Then Porky spoke.

"So, Fassad is dead." King Porky grumbled under his breath as he crossed his arms over his chest. He seemed to have calmed down. Perhaps Porky finally reached his snapping point

"Y-Yes sir, I'm afraid so." The colonel breathed out heavily as he pulled his hands back down to his sides.

"...Check again. Fassad is not one to be easily killed by a little fall." Porky spat.

"But s-sir, the fall was anything but litt-"

"I said **check again**!" Porky ordered, interrupting the colonel. The colonel tossed his hand up and nearly slapped the side of it to his mask in the form of a salute.

"Y-yes sir!… Wh-What do we do if he's still alive?"

"There is no _if_ , Fassad is still alive. When you find him, take him back to the chimera labs and see what you can do about him."

"But sir-"

"What is it now?!"

"S-Sir, what about Doctor Andonuts?" The colonel's voice softened mid sentence at the cruel stare he got from his king.

"What about him?" Porky's brows rose slightly from the mention of the scientist.

"You sent him off to Thunder Tower, remember?"

Porky's eyes widened under that mat of hair as his mistake dawned on him. He did in fact banish Doctor Andonuts to Thunder Tower.

"H-However, he disappeared shortly after he was sent there. L-Lil Miss Marshmallow disappeared as well! Do we go loo-"

"Disappeared?" Porky echoed as he gripped the sleeves of his shirt.

"Y-Yes, disappeared. We don't know where he went or how he managed to escape but-"

"He disappeared?! How do you manage to allow an old man run to off?! And how do you lose sight of a robot maid?!" Porky was outraged, flabbergasted, and pissed off.

"I-It wasn't my fault that he ran off, it was those idiots back at Thunder Tower! They're the ones telling me this stuff, I'm just a simple messenger!" The colonel had snapped as well, finally sick and tired of all of the stress the king put down upon him as colonel. It felt good to put the king in his place. But then Porky inhaled sharply.

"Did you just talk back to me?" Were his only words, and those words sent a cold shiver down the colonel's spine.

"I-I'm sorry sir, my apologies. I-I just… I just feel like you should yell at the pigmasks at Thunder Tower for messing up… Not me or my sector." The colonel hung his head as he awaited for the explosion of curses and insults.

Porky looked down his nose at the colonel and glared daggers at him, but the insults never came. At least not yet.

"Well, think of it this way; those at Thunder Tower are possibly DEAD. I can't yell at dead bodies now, can I?"

"But sir, y-you...you yell at the masked man just fine." The colonel murmured. He kept his voice low just so he could try to get away with that quip, but Porky heard.

"The masked man is NOT a dead body! It's just an idiotic robot that only knows how to serve me, and it serves me better than you idiots do!" As Porky yelled, the colonel's eyes wandered a bit to refrain from looking up at Porky, and he was quite surprised when his eyes met the masked man's.

"Sir, it's looking." The colonel said as he pointed at the masked man, who had turned his head to look at both his leader and the colonel. Porky let out a sigh as he eased back into his crib.

"Let it look, it doesn't know what we're talking about." He grabbed onto the side of the bed and turned himself so he could look back at the staring masked man. "It's only looking this way because it heard it's name. It's as dumb as rocks. You heard that masked man?!" Porky suddenly yelled, "You're an idiot! A mistake! Nobody loves you Masky, no one! Now be a good boy and look back out the window!"

The masked man stared for little bit longer before turning back to look out the window.

"See? It doesn't understand anything besides orders." Porky chuckled. The masked man brought his hand up to scratch at the bit of arm just above his blaster, and the colonel noticed that action.

"That's new." He added, his eyes fixed on the masked man. Porky rolled his eyes and flopped back over to face the colonel.

"It's new to you, but not new to me. It's just what's left of his humanity trying to reject his robotic parts. Ironic, don't you think?" Porky grinned as he clasped his hands together and placed them onto his chest. "Now, where were we?...Ah, yes." Porky drew a breath and yelled, "How dare you talk back to me?! Who do you think you are?! You think you're really more important than-"

Just then, the elevator behind the colonel dinged. It silenced King P's fit for the moment being, and it startled the colonel. The colonel turned to look at the closed doors and stepped back to stand beside his king. The doors began to slide open at an almost agonizingly slow pace, but Porky and the colonel's eyes widened once they saw what was inside.

"I'm surprised your little maid knows what to do when her play pen is destroyed." Crooned the voice of none other than Doctor Andonuts. Beside him stood the blond handmaid, who had an iron grip on his arm.

"HELLO MASTER KING P! MY ROOM WAS DESTROYED, SO I RETURNED HOME!" Her loud voice echoed throughout the room. She then stepped off of the elevator and tossed Doctor Andonuts onto the floor. "I BROUGHT MY NEW TOY TOO, THANK YOU FOR GIVING IT TO ME!"

"I fix you after you're totaled and this is how you repay me." Doctor Andonuts groaned as he stood and dusted himself off. Porky's crib took a few steps back as Porky began his interrogation.

"Totaled? What happened up there?" Porky inquired. Little Miss Marshmallow stepped forward and stood on the other side of Porky's crib, happy to be near her master once again.

"Lucas and friends stopped by, that's all. Apparently Lucas looked at the 'Friend's Yo-Yo' weirdly, so Marshmallow over there decided to attack him and his friends."

"Did he take the yo-yo?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't bother stopping him?!"

"I'm a scientist, not a body guard. He fought for the yo-yo and got a hold of it fair and square."

Porky began to yank at the sides of his hair. "You idiot! That was Ness's prized yo-yo! It's one of the more rare pieces of memorabilia I have of him! You better try and get that thing back!"

"Sorry Porky, but I don't think I can get it back. Lucas is far too strong to even think about fighting at this point."

"Nonsense, you could take on him! There's no such thing as too strong!" And right then and there, Porky had an epiphany. His hands flopped to his sides as he looked down at the robotic maid. "Too strong… Fighting…" A devilish grin began to spread upon his face as he hunched his shoulders. "Thank you, Doctor Andonuts, for repairing my beloved maid. I do believe I have a new order for you, Lil' Miss Marshmallow."

"DO YOU, MASTER KING P? WHAT IS MY NEW ORDER?" Little Miss Marshmallow beeped, her pigtails turning slightly as she awaited her new command.

"I have an orange haired pest that needs to be _eliminated_."

When Claus awoke, he found himself engulfed by darkness.

The events that lead up to this point were now fuzzy in his head. He vaguely recalled some of the cruel insults Porky hurled at him, but after that point, everything was just a blur. He blinked his eyes in an attempt to shed some light on the pitch black room to no avail. Claus took a deep breath and sighed, the sound echoing throughout the room. He brought a hand up to rub at the side of his head and flinched when his fingers grazed a rather large bump. It seemed like his unconscious bout wasn't voluntary.

A grumble slipped past his lips as he sat up, his lower back cracking at the motion. A grunt was then heard from Claus as he brought his other hand down to press against his back. Seems like he was out cold for a good while. Once he was fully awake, Claus looked down at his hands. Or at least where he thought they were. The darkness that strangled any and all light didn't allow him to see his own hands, let alone see anything else.

Another sigh left Claus as he turned his head, trying to find some kind of light source within this dark despair. His eyes scanned the darkness, and he found that there was absolutely nothing to illuminate his dark world. His brows furrowed slightly as he brought both hands down to help himself stand up. Once up onto his feet, he placed his gloved hands down at his hips. According to Claus, this was a stupid punishment. He wasn't afraid of the dark, so why would Porky even bother trying to scare him with this stupid tactic.

Then Claus heard a voice. Not a loud one mind you, but an intelligible whisper.

Claus turned his head to where he heard the whisper, but found that there was nothing there. A little bit later he heard another whisper off in another direction, and so he turned his head towards that as well, and the whisper disappeared yet again.

There was a tense moment of silence, and Claus ventured to speak.

"I-Is anyone there?" He asked timidly. Just as he spoke, he saw two faint white dots among the shadows. Then he saw another two white dots. And another pair. And another.

In an instant Claus was surrounded by what looked to be eyes, and they all stared him down. He felt their judging stares all around him, and with the stares came whispering. All Claus heard was whispering, but he couldn't make out what any of it was saying. Were the creatures talking about him?

He brought his hands up to his ears to silence the hissing and murmurings, though, the whispers still wormed their way through his fingers and infiltrated his head. Now at this point, he heard what they were saying.

"Crybaby."

"Idiot."

"Unloved."

As well as a few other colorful phrases tainted his hearing. His mouth hung open as he looked around at the white dots… Which had gotten bigger. The creatures that hid in the darkness began to approach Claus, and they arranged themselves into a circle around him. Everywhere Claus looked he saw a pair of pure white eyes staring him down. His small heart began to race as he curled up. He closed his eyes tightly in an attempt to ward off these evils.

"G-Go away!" Claus ordered, but the whispers only grew louder, and it sounded like talking. The insults began to grow cruel as they droned on.

"Nobody wants you Claus."

"You're a mistake."

"Your mother never loved you."

"You were an accident."

Claus whimpered as he fell onto his side and brought his knees up to his chest. He tried to ignore the cruel voices that just talked at him, that exposed each and every little dark fear he had, but it was starting to grow difficult.

It was almost as if the eyes were actually connected to the voices. The more Claus curled in on himself and shielded his ears, the louder they got. At this point, they were outright yelling their cruel insults. Then they began to go lower with their insults. They began to insult what Claus was most self-conscious about.

"Weakling."

"You're pathetic."

Then one voice began to stand out among the crowd of yelling ones. It sounded horribly familiar.

"It's your fault!" The familiar voice screamed. Claus trembled as the other voices grew softer, allowing the one voice that spoke to take the stand.

"You should've fought the drago." It said. Claus opened his eyes a smidgen and was surprised by who he saw standing before him.

"L-Lucas?"

"You're the reason why our family is falling apart." Lucas spoke. Claus felt tears at the corners of his eyes as he pulled his hands away from his ears. His shoulders shook as he looked at the phantom-like form of his own brother.

"Lucas… W-What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you, Claus. You're the one no one likes. No one in the town of Tazmilly likes you. You should've gone to fight the drago, maybe then the town would be a better place." Lucas' voice sounded bitter as he spoke.

"Lucas, wh-why are you-"

"You're the reason mom's dead."

Claus' heart stopped as he stared at the ghostly form of his twin sibling. Lucas didn't give Claus a chance to speak before continuing.

"She jumped in front of the drago because of you. If you hadn't wandered off so far away that night, she wouldn't have had to sacrifice herself to save you." There was a small pause as Claus tried to process that piece of information, then Lucas spoke again. "You should've been the one to die that night."

The tears that beaded at the corners of his eyes finally trickled down his cheeks as he stared at Lucas. His own sibling, the one he worried about vehemently, just told him that he should've died. Then something dawned on Claus.

"You're not Lucas..." He mumbled. There was pause between both boys, and in the blink of an eye, Lucas was gone.

Claus laid in the darkness, alone yet again, but this time he was scared. He was scared of what else lurked in the darkness, of what else was waiting there to strike. His chest heaved as panic began to set in. What else did these creatures know? What else did they want with Claus?

Claus began to breathe quickly as panicked thoughts echoed within his head, he didn't want another insult riddled attack, and he didn't want that bastardization of his sibling to return. He wiped his tears away with the back of his hand and sniffled. He wanted to go home.

Then, Claus heard another voice.

"Claus." Fluttered a soft voice that came from all angles. When he heard the voice, he slapped his hands against his ears and curled up yet again.

"Claus." The voice sounded like it was within his head, and that prompted him to curl up into a tight little ball and brace himself.

"Claus!" The voice shouted, but for once the shout didn't hurt his ears. The voice sounded concerned. It sounded worried. It sounded motherly.

Claus furrowed his brows as he tried to decide on whether or not to open his eyes. But then he felt a soft and warm aura standing before him. He decided to open his eyes.

And then he saw a red dress.

Claus didn't know if this was just another sadistic trick, or if the whispers from before finally found what made him tick, but he still felt something within him that told him he wouldn't be harmed. His eyes traveled further upwards along the red dress and his hands slipped off his ears. He took in every little bit of detail as he looked up. The way the dress flowed despite there being a lack of wind within the room, the way a pair of hands rested against the dress's lap, the way Hinawa looked down at him with a warm smile.

...Hinawa.

"M-Mom?" Claus gasped. The figure smiled and lowered herself to her knees, her dress fluttering gracefully as she sat before the child. Her brown hair draped over her shoulder as she leaned closer to the tearful boy.

"Hello, Claus." Hinawa spoke, her hand reaching out to gently cup Claus' cheek. Tears began to trickle down Claus' face as he felt that warm hand press against his cheek. He held the larger hand within his tinier one as his chest shook with hiccups.

"I-I tho-thought you were… g-gone forever." He whimpered while he eased up onto his butt. Hinawa didn't reply as her other arm wrapped itself around Claus' shoulders. She pulled Claus into a warm embrace and Claus nestled against her chest, happily taking in her scent. She smelled of roses and nut bread, just as he remembered.

"Everything will be okay." She cooed. Claus lifted his head up to look at her sweet face, and Hinawa wiped away his tears with her thumb. She leaned down to press her forehead against his, and Claus relaxed under her touch. They both shared a moment of silence as Claus took in her presence. It had been so long since he had seen her, oh so long. Seeing her smiling face again just reminded him of how much had been taken away from him.

"Lucas is okay." Hinawa said suddenly as she pulled her face away from Claus'.

"He...He is?" He mumbled. Hinawa nodded. "G-Good. I'm happy he's okay."

Both of them sat quietly as Claus pondered what to say. He was thankful that his mother had said that. He felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Thank God Lucas was okay. Or rather, thank mom.

"I missed you a lot mom… I-I really did." Claus admitted as he reached out to gently run his fingers through her hair. Despite the gloves being in the way, it still felt as soft as he remembered. Hinawa didn't speak as she rubbed at Claus' back. It almost felt unreal that Claus was finally reunited with his mother. After watching the mechanical drago bite into her, he was almost certain she was dead. Then what the voices said from before echoed in his mind.

His smile faltered as he laid his head against her chest, guilt now overcoming his little heart. Maybe he should've been bitten instead. Maybe he should've fought the drago when he had the chance. Maybe he should've-

"It's not your fault."

Claus looked up at Hinawa with wide eyes, it was almost as if she read his mind.

"I-It's not?"

Hinawa shook her head as she pressed a soft smooch to the top of Claus' head. More tears fell down his cheeks as he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly. He was so glad that he could hear from her that it wasn't his fault, that everything was okay.

At that moment, he didn't even think twice that this was just another demon. This was his mother, and he was sure of it.

"Stay safe, Claus." Hinawa said gently as she ran her fingers through Claus' hair. Claus snickered softly. She felt so _real_.

"I-I already am mom! I'm still h-here, aren't I?" He giggled. Hinawa smiled and went to press a smooch to his forehead.

A click was heard, and then the room was illuminated.

Claus' eyes closed at the sudden bright lights, but when his eyes adjusted and he was able to look without his eyes burning, he saw that Hinawa was gone. His hands were raised and grabbing at nothing as he sat there on the floor. A soft scoff bounced off the walls of this once darkened room, but Claus ignored it.

He looked around the room, taking in the sights that the darkness stole from him. The room was empty, completely empty. The room was devoid of any decorations, any potted plants, and oddly enough, any white eyes or ghost Lucas'. This was a bare bones room.

Claus looked around a bit more, and found the door that was now opened. However, an obstacle stood in his path.

By the doorway stood the masked man, his arms folded over his chest as he looked down at the lump of boy that was wailing not too long ago. Claus clenched his jaw as he laid his eyes upon the masked boy, but he couldn't find any energy to stand just yet.

"What do you want?" Claus snarled. The masked man didn't reply as he stepped towards Claus. Claus' breath hitched as he watched the masked man draw closer. He didn't want to be dragged into another insulting session with Porky, nor did he even want to be moved from his position. He wanted to go back into the darkness where he saw mom.

"Stay back you weirdo! I'll kick your butt if you get any closer!" Claus threatened. His threat was ignored by the metal headed boy, and Claus scooted backwards to avoid the oncoming chimera. "I-I said stay back! Last warning!" Despite the venom in his voice, Claus didn't have any strength in him to fight. After finally seeing his mother again and having her ripped away at the flip of a light switch, he was drained both physically and emotionally.

Once he was close enough, the masked man snatched Claus' leg and began to pull, intending to drag him around yet again. Oddly enough, Claus complied. With a pitiful whine he allowed himself to be towed, he didn't even bother trying to kick at the vice on his ankle. Before they exited the room, the masked man stopped to look back at Claus, who refused to make eye contact.

"Don't look at me." Claus grumbled as he rubbed a gloved hand against his cheek. Just to spite Claus, the masked man stared at him. The longer the masked man stared, the more the stare took it's toll on Claus. A soft whimper was heard from Claus as he brought both hands up to press against his eyes.

"I-I said don't l-look at me." His voice wavered as he spoke. He was struggling not to cry. Despite his best attempts, tears still poured out of his eyes. All of the years he spent repressing his emotions were coming back to bite him in that moment. The masked man watched as Claus turned into a sniveling mess, but he didn't dare try to do anything about it. He turned his head and continued out of the room.

The masked man lugged Claus through the eerily empty hallway. Besides him and the masked man, the hallway was abandoned, not a single pigmask snorted or squealed down these halls. During the time that Claus was in the dark room, he was absolutely alone. Though, not like it mattered to Claus. All the while he was being dragged, his hands covered his weeping eyes, thus shielding them from the rest of the world.

By the time Claus' crying subsided, the masked man arrived at the elevator that connected that floor to the rest of the building. He pressed his blaster arm against the closed elevator doors and almost instantly it opened, then the masked man retreated inside with his clone in tow.

Claus laid his hands against his chest as he stared up at the bright light at the top of the elevator. He gazed at the ceiling, then looked around and clocked the bright red floor number; 18. Well, now he could safely say he hated floor 18. His eyes then wandered over to look up at the masked man, who looked quite comical from Claus' position.

"You look even more like a dead fish from down here." Claus blurted out. The masked man looked down at Claus, a scowl overtaking his face as he glared at him from under his mask. Despite his attempt at being threatening, Claus didn't feel all that threatened. He sighed deeply and turned to look at the closing elevator doors.

"Not even a pat? A hug? A few calming words?" Claus mumbled. Once the doors were closed, the masked man released his hold on Claus' ankle to press another number located on the elevator's number pad. Claus caught a glimpse of where he pressed, but due to his position, the numbers all looked a bit warped. It wasn't floor 100, that's for sure.

"Sheesh, you really are a dead fish. A robotic dead fish, but a dead fish nonetheless." Claus grumbled as he turned his head away from the masked man. The masked man looked down at Claus, a bit curious as to what he meant by that. Claus caught the look from the corner of his eye, and he started off on his own little speech.

"If I saw someone crying I would hug them, even if I didn't like them," he admitted, "if someone cries it means they're going through something emotional. They need at least a bit of comfort, y'know, someone to tell them it'll all be okay." Claus looked up at the masked man before grimacing at him. "But I guess Porky wiped that too, huh?"

The masked man glowered at Claus before looking back up at the elevator doors. The elevator jolted before starting it's slow climb towards the floor that the masked man pressed.

"There are more emotions than just anger, y'know, like happiness, sadness, fear. It's all apart of being human." Claus gasped and slapped a hand against his cheek "Oh right, you're not human"! The masked man glared down at Claus as his hand closed into a fist.

"...I bet you don't even remember who mom was." Claus' voice softened as he let his eyes drift back up to the elevator's ceiling. The masked man's glare eased as well as he listened to Claus.

"You don't, do you? After all she's done for you, you've gone and forgotten her as easily as that." His words didn't carry any spite as he drew a breath. "Thank god I didn't make the same mistake you made."

The masked boy looked back up at the doors of the elevator, and both fell quiet. The buzz of the elevator resounded, taking up the role of being background noise. Claus laid his head back as he felt the lift shuddering beneath his small form, it almost felt like a massage. Or at least, the closest to a massage Claus would ever get in this hell hole.

The elevator suddenly jerked as it reached it's destination. The doors slid open with a squeak, and the masked man ducked down to grab onto Claus' ankle. Claus groaned as the masked man began to drag him out of the lift, though he tried to mock the masked man from his current position.

"Here we go again, wheee." Claus moaned sarcastically as he tossed his arms up. The masked man rolled his eyes and continued to drag Claus into the dark hallway of this next floor. Claus let his arms fall back against his chest as he grumbled to himself. The sound of a door opening startled Claus, and then he started to see just what was in store for him.

The masked man continued to drag him into a circular shaped room, whose ceiling was curved upward and made of glass, and whose walls were peppered with doors. Both this floor and the top floor were connected, and from his position he could see a few pigmasks peering down at him. Then it dawned on him. That was a top down viewing window. His eyes darted around frantically as he tried to confirm his thoughts.

The circular room, the glass dome ceiling, the fact that the masked man was with him, oh how he hoped his thoughts weren't true. And then the masked man dumped him in the middle of the room, and many bright lights shined down on him.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in!" Porky's voice boomed through the speakers that were littered throughout the circular room. Claus squawked as he rolled onto his stomach and raised himself up onto his knees. The masked man stepped back and took a fighting stance as Claus looked at him in horror.

"W-Wait wait, I don't want to fight!" Claus screeched as he stood up quickly. Porky laughed heartily through the speakers.

"Are you sure Claus? You seemed to want to fight him back at Drago Plateau!" Porky chortled. Claus stood and fixed his eyes on the masked man that had yet to make a move.

"I'm sure, I really don't want to fight!" Claus insisted, but his body began to betray him as he too took a stance. He was squaring up out of self defense, or so he told himself.

"But Claus, he said that your mother was stupid!"

Claus froze, eyes wide as he gazed at the masked man.

"He… said what?"

"He called your mom stupid, called her a failure, said that she was unfit to be a mother, that's why she died!" Porky bit back a couple of laughs as he waited for that fact to set in. Once it did, Claus strode forward and bumped his chest against the masked man's.

"You said WHAT?!" Claus shrieked as he shoved at the masked man's shoulders. The masked man stumbled back and brought his blaster arm out to try and threaten Claus. The threat fell flat once Claus stepped forward again.

"You said all of that?! You called her stupid?! Mom saved your butt and you go ahead and call her all of those nasty things?!" Claus grit his teeth once the masked man nodded. "You ungrateful little brat!" Claus shouted, then brought an arm back to swing at the masked man's jaw. The hit connected and sent the masked man staggering backwards, but he drew his sword from it's sheath.

"She did nothing but love you and this is what you do?!" Claus yelled as he let his fists fall to his sides "...You're nothing like me. Even IF I had my mind wiped, I wouldn't ever be as cruel as you are."

"Are you sure about that?" Porky's voice floated through the air. Claus glared upwards at the glass ceiling and barked out a "Shut up".

The masked man wore a tight lipped frown as he gripped the handle of his golden sword, then charged. Claus looked back at the masked man and tried to dodge his attack, but failed when the side of the sword decked his temple. The masked man then kicked out at one of Claus' shifting legs, causing the boy to trip. Claus collapsed back onto his butt and held a hand to the side of his head, a hiss on his lips as he struggled with the pain.

"Really Claus? I thought you were stronger than that!" Porky heckled. Claus cast his eyes upward to glare at the clear ceiling. More pigmasks had gathered to watch this metaphorical cock fight, and that pissed Claus off even more. How dare Porky make him fight for his entertainment. He turned his attention back to the masked man, who had his sword pointed at Claus. He had to think, and not think of a plan, he had to concentrate. The only way he could even stand a chance against the masked man and his sword was if he used his PSI energy. He closed his eyes and his brows knitted as he struggled to find a good surge of energy to cast his attack.

Claus then heard the clicking of a door, followed by loud mechanical whirring. His eyes opened, and he looked up at the masked man who looked off to the side. Claus swallowed as he turned his head to look at what the masked man was looking at, and his blood ran cold.

"MASTER KING P HAS GROWN TIRED OF YOU! YOU HAVE BEEN AN AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL TOY!" Shrieked a high pitched voice. Claus turned slightly and began to scoot away from that… Monster. And he thought the masked man was a robotic beast.

At the other side of the room stood a rather small robot, whose clothes mimicked that of a sweet little maid, but whose cold skin reflected something else. A pair of large pincers protruded from it's back, and a drill was held tightly in it's hand… Or was the drill it's hand? It was hard to tell from Claus' current position, but either way, it was dangerous.

"Meet Little Miss Marshmallow!" Porky crowed happily, "Oh masked man, you remember her, don't you? Well, she's gotten a few upgrades, and now she's a full blown killing machine! Isn't that grand?!"

"PREPARE FOR YOUR DEATH, YOU BROKEN LITTLE SOLDIER!" Cried the robotic maid as it charged forward. Claus shrieked and tried to stand, but another strike from the masked man's sword kept him down. The sight of the high pitched robot storming towards him caused his heart to race. He had to get that bit of energy, and fast.

He closed his eyes and concentrated. He drew as much energy he could in that quick moment. The masked man loomed over Claus and Little Miss Marshmallow was only a few paces away by the time Claus used his PSI. Claus extended his arms to his side and cast his PSI based attack with a shout.

PK Love β.

Everything went quiet, spare for the faint gasps of the pigmasks above, as his attack connected with both the masked man and the rampaging robot. Claus trembled slightly as he opened up his eyes to peek at his attackers. Bright specks of pink fluttered through the air like cherry blossoms, and the robot lurched back as sparks came off of her. The maid then collapsed as her joints whirred loudly. Though, the masked man was handling this differently.

Since the masked man was still a human, PK Love worked differently on him. His face flushed, and his eyes widened. And then his chest began to thump loudly. Looks like the masked man was PK Love struck. He looked down at Claus as his breathing became labored, and his sword clanged loudly against the floor as he dropped it. Claus stared in awe as the masked man staggered back, gasped loudly, and collapsed.

A soft smile spread onto Claus' face as he looked down at his rosy tinted finger tips, and he looked back up to the ceiling that was now circled by pigmasks.

"I win!" Claus shouted as he stood up onto his two feet. "And there's more where that came from, so you better return me back to Lucas you piggy brat!" Claus ordered. He placed his hands triumphantly at his hips and puffed his chest out. Though, the scraping of metal on the floor told him otherwise.

"WHAT A NAUGHTY TOY! MASTER KING P MUST REALLY HATE YOU!" The robot maid shrieked as she pulled herself back up onto her two feet. Claus gasped and jumped back when a large pincer came out to swing at him. "YOU SHOULD BE PUNISHED! PUNISHMENT INCLUDES DEATH!" She cried.

Claus ducked when the other pincer swung, and he turned to sprint away from the robot. The maid screeched as she shambled after him, her drill spinning as she prepared for an opportunity to ram it through his rib cage. Due to the earlier PK attack, the robot teetered with every step, thus creating a bit of distance between her and the ginger. Claus came to a slow stop once he realized just how far away the maid was from him, and he knew that now was a good time to start up his attack.

He closed his eyes again and concentrated. Since his first PK attack wasn't that long ago, the string of energy from before was much easier to grab, so the air around Claus was quickly filled with the pink specks from his PK Love β. But the attack didn't connect.

Since Little Miss Marshmallow was about half a room's distance away, Claus used his attack a bit too early, and so Little Marshmallow was just a bit out of the attack's reach. She charged forward and swung her pincer arm at Claus, which cut through Claus' jacket and undershirt and sliced his chest. Claus screamed in pain as he slammed his back into the wall behind him.

The little maid lunged forward and wrapped a hand around Claus' throat, effectively pinning Claus to the wall. Claus struggled to breathe as his eyes met the little maid's purple ones, and she spoke.

"NAUGHTY TOYS ALWAYS GET THROWN AWAY! YOU ARE NO EXCEPTION!" She cried as she brought her drill up to Claus' throat. Claus bit his lip as he felt the drill's spinning tip so close to his sensitive neck. And then, as if on instinct, pink particles surrounded him.

PK Love α.

The maid's grip softened and the drill came to a sudden stop. Claus took in a large gasp of air as he brought his hands up to his throat. There came a creaking noise, and the maid crumpled. She fell onto her side, and her pincers both laid flat onto the floor of the arena. Claus panted as he placed a hand against his cut chest and pulled it back, checking to see if he was bleeding. His glove was stained with a large red splotch, and Claus looked down at the gash that oozed blood. Porky must have really wanted Claus dead.

Claus stumbled forward and walked to the center of the room, then looked up to the captivated audience.

"Whatever that thing was… I-I killed it. If you're watching this Porky, I won! I won and I-I always will keep on winning!" Claus sounded tired as he looked back down at his gash, then placed both hands to try and ebb the bleeding. He had no energy left within him, he didn't even have any PP left for Healing α, so he settled for trying to stop it on his own accord.

And then a fist came and socked him in the jaw.

Claus collapsed onto his side and his vision swam. The poor ginger was tired, from both the large score across his chest and the lack of energy. Once his vision cleared, Claus looked up at the perpetrator that dared strike him, and it was none other than the masked man. The masked man leaned down and straddled Claus' waist, which now pinned Claus to the ground. Claus grunted as he struggled to shove him off, but another punch to his cheek stopped him dead in his tracks.

The masked man shot a piercing look at Claus, his face still flushed and his chest still beating rapidly from the earlier love induced heart attack that Claus gave him. He pulled back his hand and swung. A loud crack was heard as his knuckles connected with Claus' nose, and blood started to pour from it as Claus cocked his head upward and shielded his face from the masked man's attacks with his hands.

"S-Stop, stop!" Claus cried as the masked man continued raining blows to Claus' face. Once he realized all he was hitting was hand, he used his singular one to wrap around Claus' throat. He gripped tightly and Claus began to wheeze as his hands grabbed at the masked man's, though it was surprisingly difficult to dislodge him from his throat.

"I-I give up!" Claus croaked, his voice scraggly from both the pressure around his throat and the lack of air in his lungs. The masked man didn't let up, in fact he only squeezed harder and watched as Claus' face gained a red tone that began to turn a light purple.

"Let him go, Masky." Porky's voice commanded through the speakers. The masked man looked upward at the group of pigmasks that all watched on in horror, and his hand released Claus' throat. Claus didn't gasp for air right after the masked man released his hold on his neck, and when the masked man looked down at him, he realized why. Claus was unconscious. His hands rested against his chest and his head was turned to one side, and he would've passed off as a corpse if it weren't for his rising and falling chest.

The masked man eased up onto his feet and stepped away from Claus' limp body. He looked down at his hand and saw the back of his hand stained with Claus' blood. He grimaced in disgust at the blood, then looked back up to the glass ceiling.

"Good boy. Now come back to the 100th floor. I'll take care of the ginger later."

The masked man nodded, turned around, and walked back towards the hallway he entered. He opened the door, closed it, and approached the elevator. The doors to the elevator were already open, and the masked man stepped in. The elevator doors closed shortly after.

"So the redhead can perform PK Love." Porky snickered as his fingertips tapped together, devious ideas now filling his mind. Doctor Andonuts frowned as he stared at Porky.

"Don't even think about it Porky. I'm not going to operate on him, nor will I let you operate on him." He spat.

"Oh, you really think I want another mindless slave? You think too lowly of me!" Porky snorted, "No no, I don't want another brainless chimera, what's the point of having two if I already have one! What I want is a small friend for my sweet son."

"A… friend?" Doctor Andonuts echoed. Porky nodded as he slapped his hands against the cushion of his crib's bed.

"Yes, a friend! The masked man has no one to share his secrets with! No one to complain to! He needs one, and that boy is going to be his friend!"

"But the masked man doesn't think, he doesn't feel, he doesn't even have his own opinions. You're giving a wall a friend!"

"Precisely!" Porky smiled and rested his hands against his chest. Doctor Andonuts squinted distrustfully at Porky, something just felt _off_ about this. Andonuts' suspicions were correct. In reality, Porky just wanted to see how far he could push the human spirit, and who else would be a better guinea pig than the hard headed sibling of the blond boy he sought to kill. Plus, imagine all of the emotional torture he could put this ginger through!

The elevator within the room dinged and it's doors opened, and out stepped the masked man. His mouth hung open as he breathed shallowly. Porky's eyes widened, and he eased forward within his bed and gripped the sides of it to keep himself in place.

"Masked man? What's wrong? Is your chest still hurting?" Porky was showing some kind of concern for the masked man, which was foreign to Andonuts. Since when did Porky ever care for someone, or rather, some _thing_ so deeply? And then Andonuts realized it was because the masked man was a key part in his plan, whatever that plan was.

When the masked man stepped closer and into his reach, Doctor Andonuts placed a hand to the masked man's cheek. He pulled back after touching it, then touched his forehead. He was burning up.

"I think the masked man's sick." Andonuts uttered. Porky stared at the masked man that looked… Pathetic almost. A cough ripped it's way out of the masked man's lungs and he nearly doubled over at the cough. Doctor Andonuts brought a hand back to pat at the masked man's back as he coughed.

"So, my little bot is still sort of human." Porky mused.

The masked man felt feverish!


	6. The End Of The First Day

Doctor Andonuts stood before the closing elevator doors, his lips pressed tight as he was lost in thought. The joints on Porky's mechanical bed creaked as it turned and approached the large glass window. The masked man had departed to get his fever checked on, and thus he left the doctor and the king alone. Doctor Andonuts brought his arms back folded them behind his back, then his chest rose with a sigh.

"How did you even do this," he said solemnly "how did you manage to take control of such a quaint little world?" It was more of a rhetorical question, one he didn't expect an answer to, but Porky didn't miss a beat.

"Manipulation is one hell of a thing." Porky said simply as he relaxed within the crib. "You promise your future slaves all of the money, freedom, and power in the world, and they do your bidding!" He snorted as he tossed his hands behind his head.

"So, you prey on the feeble human mind." Doctor Andonuts said as he turned to face the back of Porky's bed.

"Don't say it like that, you make me sound like a bad guy!" Porky snorted as he gazed at the changing sky.

"You've taken over a peaceful village for your own gain."

"Not just my own gain, I also helped the people! These idiots were walking around with their doors unlocked, no money in their pockets, and completely unemployed! I just set them on the right path is all."

"They were happy the way they were, and they were functioning just fine too." Doctor Andonuts stepped closer towards Porky.

"And you know this how?"

Doctor Andonuts was at a loss for words. He didn't know. He only assumed.

"Exactly, you don't know." He said gruffly, "However, your sudden fascination over the origin of my power makes me think you have something on your mind." He snickered "Penny for your thoughts?"

Doctor Andonuts stood in silence.

"You talked to the blond boy, didn't you."

No reply.

"What did he say? Did he whine and moan about my pigmasks? Did he complain about his long trek over there? Did he bit-"

"He said he didn't like what had happened to his village." Doctor Andonuts retorted.

"Why did he say that?" Porky purred.

Doctor Andonuts didn't reply.

"Then that leads me to believe you asked him." Porky mused as he brought a hand up to his double chin. "Why would a doctor care so much about a blond boy he had never seen in his whole life?"

Doctor Andonuts' lips twitched slightly as he thought of what to say, but Porky continued.

"Is it because that blond boy reminds you of another blond boy you barely even remember?" Porky grinned as he heard Doctor Andonuts walk closer, and soon saw him slip into his peripheral vision as he stood beside him. The metallic limbs sounded as they turned the crib to face Andonuts, then crouched so Porky could be ever so slightly closer to the scientist. Porky gripped the sides of the crib as it lowered and began.

"A certain boy by the name of Jeff, I believe?" Porky cooed in a sickeningly sweet tone.

"Do not bring my son into this, he has nothing to do with our current situation." Doctor Andonuts replied coldly.

"Oh, but I think he does!" Porky insisted, "I think he has everything to do with you and your motives. Tell me Andonuts, do you miss Jeff?"

Doctor Andonuts went quiet once again.

"You do, don't you?" Porky eased back into his crib, and the crib raised back up to it's usual height. "You miss the child you ignored for years, the same child who grew up in a school rather than at home. Tsk tsk Andonuts, and I thought you were a competent fath-"

"Why do you care, Porky." Andonuts spat sharply.

"...Perhaps I would like to make a deal."

"I'm only going to say this once to remind you; I refuse to operate on the boy."

"Oh Andonuts, here you are still believing I want to turn the boy into a chimera! I'm a changed man Andonuts, and I can assure you I don't want to turn him into what the masked man is!" Porky rasped.

"Then what do you want." Doctor Andonuts hissed.

"I want you to implant a tracking device on the young boy just so I know where he is, it's nothing too big or fancy, just a simple little chip to tell me his coordinates. If you do that, then I'll let you see your son again." Porky said as a matter of factly. Doctor Andonuts stared out the large window, no verdict on the deal just yet.

"It won't hurt the boy, ask the nurses to do it if you're too worried about the guilt!" Porky leaned onto the side of the crib and laid his head against his arm.

Doctor Andonuts gripped his sleeves in thought, and cursed himself when he even dared to consider taking this deal. When Porky heard the soft whisper, he grinned nice and wide, but before he could further goad Andonuts into complying, Andonuts turned and stormed towards the elevator.

"The chip's with the attendant on the first floor! Don't forget to ask her where the nurses are located!" Porky called, and after his little word of advice he doubled over with coughs. Doctor Andonuts pressed a hand against the elevator and stepped in once it opened.

On the other hand, Claus wasn't doing so well.

Claus laid completely unconscious on a metal table, his limbs strapped in by soft cuffs that would have kept him from squirming, had he been awake. He was blissfully unaware of the white pigmasks that were sent to work on him, and everything was going perfectly smooth.

Until he began to wake up.

"Scalpel." Ordered a feminine voice. The voice sounded distant, as if it were a mile away.

"Scalpel." Parroted another feminine voice. Claus then felt a sharp pain at his chest, followed by the warmth of his own blood trickling down the fresh cut. That voice sounded much closer, almost as if it were at the end of the room.

"Tweasers." Ordered the same voice again. It now sounded as if the voice was in his ear. His eyes then cracked open to try and see just what was going on, but his vision was swallowed up by a bright white light.

"Tweasers." Repeated the other voice. There was a horribly strong stinging sensation at both the fresh cut and the old gash he was given, and the air around him smelled strongly of alcohol.

"Sutures." Was the final order that the voice gave.

"Sutures." Was the final echo that the other voice gave. But, before Claus could feel anything, a third voice chimed in.

"His heart rate's going up." The voice said, and everyone in the area seemed to go into a frenzy. A flurry of questions were asked, and due to his drowsy nature, he barely understood anything they had to say. In that moment, an echo of pain from his nose throbbed through out his skull, and a soft squeak of pain left his lips. Everything went quiet.

"He's waking up!" Cried a voice that had a vague southern accent to it. And then Claus felt a hand at the top of his head that gently stroked his orange hair. His eyes blinked, and the bright white light turned into four smaller ones, and he realized that those were the same lights he saw back at the chimera labs. His eyes then darted around the room in an attempt to see what was going on, but before his vision could adjust to the scene before him, everything went dark once more.

"It's okay. Everything's going to be okay." He heard a soft voice coo in his ear as a plastic mask was pulled over his face. He then went under anesthetics.

That voice was not that of his mothers.

A pang of pain that made his head throb roused him from his slumber, and Claus found himself under another white light yet again, but this time it wasn't as powerful as before. The white light that hung above him glowed just enough to light the room he laid in, and it didn't hum like the last light did. He brought a hand up to his head and sat up, his vision blurred. Claus blinked a few times, until his vision cleared up, and he looked down at the gloved hand he used to rub his head. He was surprised at what he saw. The glove he wore was perfectly white, as if the blood he dabbed onto it never even existed.

In that moment he surveyed himself, and he found that his uniform was still intact. There wasn't a slice through the jacket and undershirt, no blood stained the articles of clothing, and there weren't any wrinkles from the rough man handling he probably received after he was knocked out. It was an eerie sight indeed, and his eyes widened at the conclusion he came to. They must have stripped him down and given him a change of clothes while he was unconscious. A shudder shook his form as he thought of all of the creepy looks he probably got from all of the pigmasks that dared strip him, or even worse, the idea of the masked man even looking at his body.

Even if the masked man was once like him, Claus refused to accept the fact that he was ever human. Sure, he was human _like_ , but he lacked all of the bits that would make him a person, like the ability to feel and emote properly. Claus feared that the masked man would one day reap everything that made him capable of conscious thought. Maybe while he's out cold for the umpteenth time.

Claus ran his fingers through his hair as he breathed in the faint smell of alcohol, the memories of what happened back during the procedure came back in the form of flashes. He recalled the muddled speech, the pain he felt, and oddly enough, the sound of an elevator dinging. That elevator part was surely before he was knocked out, but he just couldn't place when it occurred, or even why.

He then brought his hands down, opened his jacket, and lifted up his undershirt to look at the gash. The gash now had black stitches keeping it shut, and a strange brown gel coated the stitched up cut. He laid back down onto the bed and pulled both hands up to press against the scar. He closed his eyes and concentrated, and soon the familiar green tint came to his finger tips. PSI Healing α was used once again, and Claus felt it's affects immediately. The clean slice began to close on it's own accord as skin fused the two bits of flesh together, but the PSI power wasn't strong enough to complete the process. Claus was left with the sutures still in his skin and a large pale scar along his chest.

He'd have to ask someone to remove the black bits of thread, but until then, he was forced to stick with them. He moved towards the edge of the bed and winced when a sharp pain surged through his right arm. He didn't hesitate to pull up the sleeve, and he was relieved to see a band-aid slapped over a spot on the crook of his arm. Thank god they didn't take his arm. Thank all of the gods.

He scooted closer to the edge and slipped off the cushioned bed, and he soon felt the cold tile floor beneath his socked feet. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked about the room. The room was mostly empty, had a strange sea green color to it, and the air conditioning in this room made it as chilly as a winter's day. He folded his arms in an attempt to keep himself warm while he looked for his boots. He eventually spotted the shoes by the door, and he shuffled on over towards them.

He flopped down onto his bum and pulled both boots closer to himself. He slid on and laced up one boot at a time, and he was quickly back up onto his feet. He reached out and gripped the rounded knob within his hand, and gave it a slow turn. The door clicked and it opened just a crack. From the crack, Claus looked out of his room to see if the coast was clear. The hallway, though just as green as the room he stood in, was clear of pigmasks.

The door then swung open and Claus stepped out, his head held high as he was on high alert for any movement. He looked down both sides of the hallway, and started towards the end that had a rounded table in sight. As he walked forward, his footsteps echoed throughout the empty hallway, and he flinched at that. If he wanted to escape out of this weird medical ward, he would have to be as quiet as possible. He then eased himself up onto his tip toes and continued to walk down the hallway, the sound now much fainter than before.

Claus stepped past closed door after closed door, and he heard quite a few odd noises. A couple of pained groans came from a few doors, a squeaky voice came from another door, and he even heard a loud POP come from another closed door. This place sounded like a hospital from hell.

As Claus passed by yet another door, he noted that it was slightly ajar. He stopped at it and fought with himself on whether or not to peer in. Curiosity got the better of him, and soon enough he pressed the side of his face against the door frame, closed his other eye, and looked into the room. What he saw startled him.

Inside he saw a white pigmask washing something in a near by sink. It's back was turned towards the door, so Claus couldn't see what the pigmask was working on. But Claus could see who the pigmask was working on. Sitting on the paper wrapped bench was the masked man, his posture slouched and his expression almost miserable. Claus wondered just what horrors the masked man was subjected to to give him that look.

"I just don't understand it Masky," Claus heard a feminine voice say, and he recognized that voice from his earlier fight with consciousness, "how could you have come down with a fever, and then feel better a few moments later? That just doesn't make any sense!" She sighed, then the pigmask turned around and approached the masked man. He heard the pigmask 'tsk' softly and put it's hands on it's hips.

"Don't give me that look, I know what that look means." It was then that Claus realized the voice was coming from the pigmask. The look that the pigmask was on about was that of pure and utter misery and sorrow, and Claus could see that look even from his position. "You just want another lollipop, but I won't fall for it this time! Say ah Masky." Then the pigmask produced a tongue depressor from her hand and held it up to the masked man's mouth. The masked man's lips didn't part and instead only tightened in his small fit of… rebellion? If that's even how you'd categorize that.

"...Okay, I'll give you a lollipop after we're done, now will you please open up?" The pigmask pleaded, but the masked man didn't budge. She let out a soft sigh, lowered the tongue depressor, and leaned back. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again. "Okay, I promise I'll get you a lollipop." At those words, the masked man's pitiful expression was dropped and his mouth was opened, and the pigmask went to work on checking his throat. Looks like Masky had the puppy dog look down pat.

Claus couldn't believe his own two eyes. The same creature that was hailed as a commander, the same being that beat the snot out of him earlier, the same monster that had no feelings what so ever, could successfully pull off the puppy dog face. Claus suppressed a snicker as he continued to watch the events unfold before his very eyes. But someone decided to rain on his parade.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Shrieked a shrill voice, and Claus jerked away from the door to look at where the voice came from. When he looked to his side, his vision was mostly taken up by a sheet of white with a large red cross drawn across the chest. His first instinct was to look up, and when he did he saw a pigmask's face. His heart stopped as he met eyes with the pigmask, and the pigmask didn't seem too pleased.

"You're supposed to be resting, what are you doing up?!" It cried in it's high voice, then reached a hand out to roughly take Claus by his arm. Claus however wasn't ready to be dragged back to bed. He gripped onto the pigmask's arm, pulled back the sleeve, and bit down on the exposed bit of skin. The pigmask outright screamed and released it's hold on Claus, and Claus took that moment to turn and sprint away.

"C-Catch that child!" The pigmask cried as it was tending to it's wounds. At those words, it seemed like pigmasks were everywhere. Several pigmasks wearing the same red cross uniform emerged from the near by rooms, and a few even turned into the hallway that Claus was in. It was almost like an infestation, and each pigmask squealed out orders and commands to one another. Chaos in it's truest form.

Despite the squealing and shrieking, Claus had yet to be deterred from his plan. With the elevator in sight, he wasn't going to give up that easily. Besides, the masked man had yet to make an appearance, all the better for him!

Claus ignored all orders to cease his running and continued towards the elevator. He ducked away from approaching hands, dodged lunging forms, and even jumped away from a pigmask that was hot on his trail. He thought he was in the clear once he leapt up and over the receptionist's counter, but his hopes were quickly crushed when he ran face first into the gut of a pigmask.

The force behind the impact nearly bowled the pigmask over, but due to it's heavy stature Claus couldn't manage it. The pigmask then wrapped both of it's arms around Claus' head, which kept him nestled to it's gut while other pigmasks rushed forward.

"I got him!" Called a high pitched voice as Claus struggled against the hold. He pushed against the harsh grip, and he felt himself slipping from the pigmask's grasp. Yet, before he could wriggle away, he felt a hand grab both of his wrists. He tried to pull his arms away, but he found that whatever was holding him was far too strong for him. The pigmask that held his head brought it's foot out and swept at Claus' feet, which caused him to crumple over. That pigmask then released it's hold on his head and waddled back.

Claus heaved as he looked at the retreating pigmask, then looked to his sides. There was a white pigmask at each arm, and they both gripped his wrists and made sure to keep his arms stretched out. It was very reminiscent of how the green pigmasks held him at the time he got wrapped up into this mess. Though, now that he was in uniform, an idea struck.

"Let me go!" Claus ordered as he refound his footing and stood. He puffed his chest out and tried to project his voice just as the masked man had done. The sudden command caused all of the chittering and oinking pigmasks to quiet down and stare at him. "I'm the masked man, and I command all of you to step away!" He screamed, scanning the crowd of pigmasks. He noted that each pigmask was fitted with the same red cross. How peculiar. He then turned to look between both pigmasks at his arms, expecting them to release him.

Their grips did soften slightly, but they still held on to Claus despite his pretty convincing act. Claus then pulled a foot back and started to kick out at the captors that held his arms. He wasn't going to go down with a fight.

"Let go of me! I already told you to let go, so let go! I'm telling Porky you're all horrible at following instructions!" Claus screamed while the other pigmasks shared their worries in a hushed manner. Then Claus spotted a pigmask reaching for something inside of a mobile medical drawer. He had to use his good looks to strike fear into them again.

"You over there!" He shrieked. "The one near the dresser!" Wrong word but he hoped the pigmasks wouldn't notice. Said pigmask jumped up and looked at the screaming boy, and Claus continued. "Get these two off of me right now!" He ordered with a foot stomp. The white pigmask nodded and rushed on closer towards the 'commander' and the two other pigmasks, but it didn't speak to them.

Instead, that pigmask came to a stop and crouched down so it would be at eye level for Claus.

"Sorry, but you're not my leader." Said a soft feminine voice. The same voice that was talking to the masked man a few moments ago.

"B-But I am!" He insisted, "I'm Masky!"

"Then where's your mask? Where are your wings?" The pigmask then presented a syringe filled with a pink liquid out from behind her back, and Claus went white.

"I-I don't know. T-They're...They're… Let me go already!" Claus cried before trying to kick out at the pigmask before him. It simply stepped away from his kicking legs and chuckled.

"Don't worry young one, it's just a sedative. We don't want you tearing your stitches is all! You need to rest, but judging by how fast you ran, I think you don't want to sleep." She hummed.

"I don't need to rest, I'm fine! Let me go!" Claus pleaded.

"Your sutures say otherwise. Now, either you take the shot to the arm, or you take the shot to the butt, choose your outcome. Just know the butt shot hurts a lot more than you think." The pigmask began uncapping the needle.

"I-I don't want any shots! I want to go home!" He whined as he yanked both of his arms back. Luckily one of them released his hand with a startled squeal. He used his now free hand to push at the other pigmask's hands, but that pigmask wasn't going to let go.

"Butt it is! Carmen, hold his legs!" She ordered, and the pigmask in question ducked down and wrapped it's arms around his legs to prevent him from kicking out at the others. The pigmask that held his wrist reached out and held both of his hands tightly within it's own. The woman then charged forward and grabbed the waist of his pants. She started to tug down his pants just so she could get a clean shot in.

All the while, Claus was panicking. His chest heaved as he struggled against the various holds on him, but found that no matter which way he squirmed it was futile.

"Don't move so much sweetheart, I don't want to miss a vein and have to re-do the shot!" Warned the pigmask with the needle. She sounded so condescending.

"Ladies!" Suddenly screamed a voice. The pigmasks all froze and looked off to where the voice came from. Claus trembled against the pigmasks as he looked as well. Seems like Claus had a guardian angel that day.

The voice that screamed out at the mob belonged to Doctor Andonuts, who had his hands at his hips.

"What kind of nurses are you all?! Resorting to forcefully holding down and stabbing a scared young boy with drugs! You don't treat the masked man like that, do you?!" Doctor Andonut began to drill all of these pigmasks on their actions. The nurses holding onto Claus released him and stepped aside. The ringleader with the needle stepped back, and hid the syringe behind her back.

Once there was a clear path to Doctor Andonuts, Claus pulled up his pants and rushed over. He tossed his arms around Andonuts' waist and sobbed into his stomach.

"Andonuts! I-I thought you were dead!" Claus breathed in as he looked up at the scientist. Doctor Andonuts brought a hand down to push him away. Claus stepped away and sighed. "Thunder Tower blew up, I saw it!"

"Kindness goes a long way. Now, come with me." Andonuts gave the crowd of pigmasks a quick look over before striding towards a closed door. Claus trailed after, practically grasping at Andonut's coat out of fear of being taken yet again.

The door opened with a loud click, and the room inside was pitch black. Well, it was, until Doctor Andonuts flipped the light switch. The room turned out to be just another check up room, it was just unoccupied. Once Claus stepped inside, Doctor Andonuts shut the door behind him and made sure to lock it to prevent any interruptions.

"You're quite gutsy for your age, Claus. You need to be more careful." Doctor Andonuts said solemnly.

"It's hard to be careful when you're surrounded by everything and it's monkey trying to kill you!" Claus growled.

"You still need to be cautious and rational! Did you really think running down the middle of the hallway while screaming like a banshee would provide positive results?!" Andonuts snipped.

"I wasn't screaming! They were all chasing me and the elevator was in sight, I could've gotten away if it weren't for that stupid pigmask standing in my way!"

"You wouldn't have gotten away that easily. The elevator's doors would've taken too long to open. By the time they did there would be a needle two inches into your right butt cheek pumping you full of sedatives."

Claus glared downwards and kicked at the floor, a soft clink was heard once the tip of his boot met with the tile.

"...How are your sutures?" Andonuts finally asked as he ushered Claus towards the paper wrapped bed.

"Why do you care?" Claus spat as he shuffled on over towards the sea green bench.

"I just want to make sure you didn't tear them open during that whole catastrophe." Doctor Andonuts walked over to the bench and gave the translucent paper a pat.

"They're fine. I need them removed." Claus admitted as he climbed up and sat down onto the paper.

"Removed? But you just got them! Let me see them." Doctor Andonuts reached for the front of Claus' jacket, but Claus slapped his hand away.

"I'll do it." Claus said sternly as he unzipped his jacket, pulled it open, and pulled up the undershirt. Doctor Andonuts leaned down and examined the sutures, and he was shocked at how quickly the skin healed. He pulled back and looked at Claus.

"They should have scissors around here somewhere, give me a moment." Doctor Andonuts then excused himself and walked over to a set of drawers. He opened the drawers one by one and cautiously combed through them for a pair of medical scissors. Claus on the other hand laid back and exhaled deeply. It felt so strange having his chest exposed like this, especially in front of someone he's known not even for a day.

It didn't take long for Doctor Andonuts to find the scissors. Once he did, he walked back over and got to work. He adjusted his glasses, leaned in, and took the edge of the scissors to the first suture. It gave away with a simple snip, and Andonuts continued along the scar across his chest, snipping at each stitch individually. Claus laid his head back and stared at the fluorescent lights above his head, ignoring the slight pinches and tugs of Andonuts working on his sutures.

"Claus, could you do me a favor?" Andonuts inquired, his eyes not even leaving Claus' chest. Claus looked up at Doctor Andonuts.

"Uh, sure, what do you need me to do?" Claus replied, expecting Doctor Andonuts to tell him to pick up the remains of his stitches.

"Please, don't let me change you." Andonuts requested. Claus went wide eyed and shifted up onto his elbows once the scissors were pulled away.

"W-What do you mean by that?" Claus shook at the idea of the only friend he had turning against him.

"...I just don't want anything happening to you because of an impulsive decision of mine." Doctor Andonuts said as he cupped his hand and picked up every bit of black thread.

"Impulsive? What- Why would you change me? You promised you wouldn't! Heck, you even saved me and refused to mess with me and my guts!"

"Porky knows how to make a person break. He knows a lot more about me than you do. Perhaps I'll tell you one day, but for now my secrets will remain secrets. Just know a little obedience wouldn't kill you." Doctor Andonuts gave Claus' chest a pat before turning away to dispose of the stitches. Claus looked down at his suture free scar and sighed. Good god just what did Porky try to do this time.

Claus tugged down his undershirt and zipped up his jacket, then looked at Andonuts' back. He chewed over asking the question, but decided it would be in his best interest to ask.

"What did Porky want you to do?" Claus queried. Doctor Andonuts went still by the hazardous waste bin, where he dumped the sutures.

"He wanted me to implant a GPS on you. He wanted to make sure you didn't escape. He claims that's the only thing he wanted to do, but I know he's full of lies." Andonuts turned to face Claus. "Try to at least befriend the nurses here just so you have an extra layer of security against Porky. The women here are bleeding hearts when it comes to children. They'll hesitate and ask you whether or not you consent to Porky's advances."

"How do you know?" Claus asked as he slid off the bench. In the process of getting off, he tore the paper that covered the medical bed. He looked back at it and Andonuts waved it off.

"The masked man is an example. He's been spoiled rotten by these women. They hold him near and dear to their hearts some how, so his word is final according to them. If he shakes his head or makes a face, the nurses drop everything and move on." Doctor Andonuts explained. Claus stood in awe, and Andonuts walked back to lean against the counter by the sink.

"Seriously? Sheesh, he's got a good life here. Unlimited lollipops, an army at his beck and call… That's all he has right?" Claus squinted unsurely at Doctor Andonuts.

"As far as I'm concerned, yes. It's a shame he has barely any sentience to enjoy his reign, implying Porky would even allow that." Andonuts leaned slightly as he spoke.

Both shared a quick moment of silence to think of what to say next. Before Claus could ask about the nurses, Doctor Andonuts spoke.

"I saw your brother, Lucas." Those words got Claus' eyes to light up.

"W-What?! Really?! How was he? Was he okay?" Claus nearly sprinted towards Andonuts as he gripped the front of his lab coat. "Tell me! Please!"

"He was fine, and I have to tell you, he and his friends are very strong." Doctor Andonuts said, though he didn't look at Claus as he spoke. "They easily destroyed Little Miss Marshmallow. In my opinion, I bet they can over throw Porky right now." Claus beamed as he heard those compliments.

"That's my brother, don't ever mess with him! He's the strongest boy you'll ever meet! Well, besides me of course." Claus pulled away and struck a quick heroic pose. Doctor Andonuts chuckled softly and turned towards the door.

"Any final words before we head back out into the fray?"

"Don't think so… Oh yeah, where can I get a snack around here? I'm starving!" Claus placed a hand over his stomach to over exaggerate his current hunger. Doctor Andonuts shook his head.

"I do believe there's vending machines scattered about, but you need Dragon Points to use them. It's a type of currency, I think the pigmasks get paid in Dragon Points."

"Currency? Looks like everything takes money now-a-days." Claus strolled towards the door, and extended his arm out towards the knob. "Watch, I'm going to befriend all of the nurses, and then I'll be even more spoiled than the masked m-"

The door suddenly shook with a loud noise as the knob was knocked out of place. The wood around the door knob splintered and the locking mechanism was jammed into the wall. After another thunderous bang, the knob fell to the floor with a pathetic clink, and Claus blanched. He took a pace back once the door began to creak open.

Now the masked man stood in the door way, a white stick protruding out from between his lips as he stared between both Doctor Andonuts and Claus. Claus walked back and hid behind Doctor Andonuts, and Andonuts gently pushed Claus away.

"He won't hit you, don't worry." Andonuts said in a comforting voice. The masked man pointed at Claus and pointed down at a point at his feet, asking him to come closer. Claus only shifted further behind Doctor Andonuts, which frustrated him. The masked man repeated the gesture, but stomped his foot just so his anger was apparent.

"Yeah, he sure won't hit me." Claus said bitingly. Doctor Andonuts nudged Claus once more, and when Claus wouldn't move the masked man took it upon himself to drag this boy out. He stormed over and reached out with his hand while Claus ducked back and side stepped away from the orange haired boy. The masked man bared his teeth as he turned around Andonuts' legs and reached out again, but Claus stepped away yet again. At this point both boys were circling Andonuts, trapping him with a game of cat and mouse.

When Claus tried to slip around Andonuts for the 6th time, the masked man turned the other way and met face to face with Claus. He reached out and grabbed his shoulder, putting an end to their ridiculous game. Claus whined and grabbed at his tightening hand, then looked back at Doctor Andonuts.

"If I end up back here, it's all your fault!" Claus griped as he was dragged towards the door. Andonuts waved Claus off, which got another whine out of Claus as he slipped out of his sights. The masked man bounded down the hall with his 'friend' following closely behind, as if he had any other choice. Claus looked at all of the nurses who stared back in eerie silence. It felt like he was being sentenced to death, or something worse.

He was pulled through the large lobby and towards the elevator he sought earlier. The masked boy stood before it and tapped the doors with the barrel of his blaster. Both stood stiffly as they waited for the doors to open, but it seemed like the elevator was occupied at the moment.

The mostly metallic boy looked at Claus, who cast his eyes off to the side to avoid looking at the masked man. He craned his neck forward so he could try and coax a glance, but he got more than he wanted when Claus shot a glare at him.

"What do you want?" Claus growled. The masked man pulled his head back and gave Claus' arm a shake. Claus clenched the fist up on that arm and gave his own arm a shake to try and dislodge the masked man's hold. It was useless, but it was always worth a shot.

"You just want to mess with me, don't you?" Claus huffed as he turned his head away from him. The shake the masked man gave him confirmed his thoughts. "You're so weird. You're weird looking, weird acting, and just weird in general!" He used his other hand to push at his shoulder, but the masked man didn't budge. Seems like his childish insults had no affect on him.

The elevator doors finally slid open, and Claus was pulled into the spacious lift. Once in, the doors closed behind both boys. The masked man released his hold on Claus and gave him a quick shove just so he could keep his distance. Claus bumped into the side of the elevator, and he glowered at the masked man. After they both stared each other down, the masked man reached out and pressed the 100th button on the board. Claus' eyes then darted up to the changing red numbers. The red lights showed the number 2, and once the elevator began to buzz, that number began to climb. He was literally a floor away from escape.

Claus slid down the wall of the elevator, sat down, and pressed his hands against his face out of frustration. He couldn't believe this. He missed out on his chance of escape just because he made a stupid mistake. Oh how Lucas would tease him if he was here. The masked man however focused on Claus. He shifted the sweet treat within his mouth slightly, waiting for Claus to notice his vigilance.

When Claus pulled his hands away, his eyes met with the masked man's exposed one, and he stood back up.

"What is it with you and looking at me? Didn't Porky teach you it's rude to stare?" Claus scoffed "Porky would want you to make people uncomfortable, huh." He said as he crossed his arms. The masked man continued to stare at Claus, and Claus stared right back. He eyed up the white stick that still hung from his mouth, then he reached out to pluck that from his lips. He pulled back a bright red lollipop and the masked man lunged for it, but Claus pressed a hand against his face and held the lollipop off to the side, away from the masked man's hand.

"So the spoiled brat has a sweet tooth!" Claus taunted as he shook the lollipop in the air, wordlessly threatening to drop it. The masked man kept his eyes locked onto the treat as his fingers reached uselessly for it. "It's not even rock candy! It's just some cheap imitation!" He scoffed as he held the treat closer to himself, "Why do you even like this weird smelling garbage?"

In an instant the masked man swung his blaster at Claus, and it earned Claus a hit to the gut. Claus doubled over and his push weakened enough for Masky to reach over and take back the lollipop. He shoved the treat back into his mouth and pushed Claus. Claus stumbled back and stared at the masked man.

"Someone's greedy." He hissed under his breath, and the masked man turned away. Looks like Claus upset a certain boy, and he was ready to return all of Masky's weird stares and shakes. Without hesitation, Claus grabbed onto the masked man's shoulders and gave him a violent shake.

"Hey! Hey! Pay attention to me! C'mon, look at me! I'm a needy little dweeb that wants constant attention! Look over here! Hey!" Claus badgered. The masked man tried to swing back an arm to hit Claus, but each attempt was met with more shakes. "Don't bother trying to _shake_ me, Masky!" Claus teased, and he thought he was winning this petty little attack once he saw the masked man's knees buckle. The metal wing to the face told him otherwise.

The masked man expanded his wings suddenly, and since Claus practically forgot he had wings, he paid heavily. Claus stumbled back and held his hands to his face. It was a miracle that his nose wasn't broken again, but the hit still smarted. He looked up from his hands and looked at the expansive wing span that occupied the rest of the elevator's width; those wings had to have been about two arm lengths worth. He noticed the large barrels attached to the wings and a faint smell of gasoline filled the lift. Seems like these wings couldn't achieve flight without a bit of help.

A soft whirring was then heard as the wings began to slowly retract. The wings folded closed and were tucked against his upper back. The dark material between each curve of the wing blended nicely with the dark jacket he wore, which resulted in the wings being hardly noticeable from a distance. The only thing that stood out were the large bumps that the barrels left behind. The masked man turned his head to look back at Claus, and Claus looked right back at him.

"...That is so weird." He muttered under his breath. He had an urge to grab at his wings, and soon his hand reached out to act on that urge. The masked man turned around sharply and bared his teeth at Claus. Claus pulled his hand back and narrowed his eyes at him. "I was only going to look, no need to get all rabid!" Claus puffed.

The robotic boy retook his stoic expression and he turned to stare at the elevator doors. Claus eyed up the masked man, and he found his eyes darting back to where the wings were located. Now, much to Claus' disbelief, the rockets that stuck out had outright disappeared. Claus blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating and looked up and down his back.

"Where… Where did your wings go?" He asked as his hand moved towards the masked man's back. The boy turned towards Claus and looked at him dead in the eyes. "They were there a second ago, where did they go?" Claus reached over to grab at his shoulder, but the masked man pushed his hand away before he could get too close. He pulled his hand back and both identical boys shared a look.

The elevator finally dinged, signifying they were on the 100th floor. The elevator doors opened up painfully slow, and the masked man snatched up Claus' arm and yanked him towards the exit. Claus gripped onto the safety railing within the elevator and dug his heels into the tiled floor. When the masked man pulled again, his boots squeaked as he slid forward, but his hand still did not budge.

Masky peered at Claus who simply stuck his tongue out at him. The elevator doors began to close, and Claus thought he won this round, but the masked man stuck his foot before the doors could shut. The lift's doors whirred as they pressed against his foot and slid apart once more. The masked man then brought that same foot back and swept it under both of Claus', and Claus fell with a shout. His hold on the security bar weakened enough for the masked man to yank him from it.

The masked man stepped out of the elevator, practically dragging Claus behind him by his arm. Claus looked like an absolute child. His lips were pursed in a pout and his eyes were downcast-ed as he was dragged. He even gave his legs a few halfhearted kicks as a pathetic whine slipped out of his mouth. He was being an even bigger baby than the masked man was.

Luckily for Claus, no one was there to mock him on his attitude.

It was a strange sight as the masked man paced further into the room. There was no hide nor hair of his beloved king. His crib was no where to be found, the window was wide open, and there were absolutely no pigmasks around to fill his slave role while he was gone. He scanned the room, and even looked up to the ceiling for clues, but there was no sign of his corpse king. Claus on the other hand rejoiced to himself. Finally, he could no longer be bossed around by some idiot who could barely tell orange from yellow!

Then his voice filled the room.

"Ah, so your fever finally passed!" Porky spoke, and his withered voice bounced off every corner of that room. Claus went cold as he looked about frantically for the source of the sound, but there was no source to be seen.

"That's absolutely wonderful, and your friend's all better now! How niiice." Porky cooed.

"He is NOT my friend!" Claus shouted out from behind the masked man.

"Of course he is! Look at how nicely he's treating you!" Porky almost mocked, but interrupted Claus before he could contradict his words. "That doesn't matter now. I need you both to head on over to Thunder Tower to inspect the damage. Bring back anything you think if valuable." Porky ordered.

The masked man nodded at the order, and he began to walk towards the closed window with his captive gripped tightly within his fist. Claus grabbed at his fingers and nipped at his wrist in an attempt to get him to release his arm. He figured biting worked against the nurses, why not for the masked man?

He soon came to realize that the masked man barely even flinched when his skin was pinched between his teeth. He also realized that the masked man was cold… Very cold. He stopped his biting endeavors at that, the cold skin being too foreign and too weird for him to continue. What kind of person has cold skin? Well, that's implying the masked man was still a person.

The masked man let go of Claus' arm in favor of grabbing the back of his jacket, and once his hold was secured, his wings expanded. Claus felt the gust of air of them spreading out and he turned his head to look at the fully expanded wings. He softly cursed himself for not catching the sight. He wanted to know where those wings went gosh darn it! He turned his head back around and waited for his next move. The masked man stepped up to the edge of the window and he leaned forward.

Claus full heartedly knew the masked man was going to fall, but despite that knowledge, it didn't fail scare him. A girlish shriek tore out of his throat as both hands instinctively grabbed his wrist; the floor beneath him slid out from under him and was replaced with nothing but air. Morbid curiosity got the better of Claus, and he found himself staring down at the Earth that was rushing to greet them both. He began to count the seconds since the masked man leapt off.

One… Two… Three… Four.

The seconds began to climb higher and higher, and it became clear that the masked man wasn't burning gasoline just yet.

"W-What are you doing?!" Claus shrieked as his nails dug into the bit of exposed skin above his glove, "Fly up! Fly up!" He cried out. Despite Claus' pleads, the powerful sound of the jet wings had yet to fill his senses. He felt the masked man's hand release the back of his jacket, and he watched in pure horror as he started to drift away from him.

Claus held both arms out as he turned over mid air. He reached out to grab at the masked man's ankle, but he had drifted too far away. He was just out of reach.

"No! N-No no no! Claus don't do this! D-Don't do this!" Claus wailed as he felt his heart pumping at the back of his throat. He thrashed about in air and swung his arms to at least try and pull himself closer to the masked man, but it was no dice.

The masked man then turned his head slightly to peer back at Claus. Without much warning, he too flipped himself around, and now both boys faced each other. Claus waved his arms frantically as tears began to bead in his eyes, but due to the wind force against both of them, those tears began to travel up his face.

"P-Please!" Claus begged as his hands reached out towards the masked man. He looked down at the Earth that was now too close for comfort. He practically could count how many seconds he had left before he became a red stain on the ground. 10 seconds.

When he looked back up, he heard the jet wings starting up. The low purr and the strong aroma of gasoline got his hopes up, but the salute the masked man gave him practically stabbed him in his quick beating heart. He then looked back down at the ground. 5 seconds.

The loud boom of the wings was deafening, and Claus found himself at a loss for words.

The masked man lunged forward, propelled by the strong force behind his wings, and his hand reached out and grabbed Claus'. Claus was pulled along for the ride, but they both continued to fall regardless of the push. Claus then felt the heels of his boots drag across the ground before he suddenly began to ascend. He looked down at the ground that began to grow distant, his mouth agape with shock. A cold chill shook his small form as he blinked back tears.

"I-I think I peed a little." Claus admitted as he looked back up at the masked man. The helmet wearing boy gazed at Claus and shot him a grimace. Claus furrowed his brows as he struggled to find stability behind his voice. "D-Don't look at me l-like that! I didn't a-actually pee!" He huffed. The masked man didn't seem to buy his claim. Claus spotted his eyes scanning his form, and Claus kicked his legs out without much of a goal.

"I didn't! It's just a saying ya dumb jerk! You scared me half to death!" Claus whinged, though he soon calmed down right after his little outburst and let his head hang. The masked man's brows rose ever so slightly at the sudden tired spell that overcame Claus. Was the small boy seriously all tuckered out? What happened to the constant fiery attitude?

The masked man dangled him ever so slightly to gauge his reaction, but Claus didn't even respond. His grip against his forearm was still strong, so the boy couldn't have just fainted on him. It was then that Claus looked up at the masked man and uttered the few words he never thought he would hear.

"Thank you." Claus gasped out. It took every ounce of strength to not berate the masked man, but Claus did it. He thanked him. The masked man blinked, awaiting for something else to come after that thank you, but nothing followed it. That's what he thought at least. Once the masked man turned his head back up, Claus began to speak.

"You could have just left me to die. You could have left me to fall and smash my bones and skull against the ground. But you didn't." Claus murmured, Masky looked back down at him in an instant. "So, thanks." He took a slow breath and looked out at the shifting environment below him. "I guess you do have some kind of consciousness left."

The masked man stared for the longest time, not sure of how to process those somewhat kind words. Claus looked back up at him and glowered.

"I'm still not gonna be your friend, just know that." He clarified. The masked man lowered his eyelids and opened his mouth, allowing for the now clean lollipop stick to fall out of his mouth and onto Claus' face. Claus flinched when the slobbery part landed on the bridge of his nose, and he turned his head to let it roll off and fall to the ground below. "Dude! That's disgusting!" Claus shrieked as he brought a hand up to wipe off his face. He could have sworn he heard some kind of hissy chuckle float out of the masked man, but when he looked up at him his face was just as impassive as always.

Claus grumbled a few curses as he looked back out towards the various green scenery below him. It was such a refreshing sight as opposed to being cooped up in a vertical maze. Off on the horizion he spotted it; the charred remnants of Thunder Tower.

He couldn't even begin to think of what was inside that tower. From the vague hints he got from the security cameras and the faint chatter he listened in on, it seemed to be filled with nothing but experiments and pigmasks. Or at least, it was filled with experiments and pigmasks. After the explosion, he figured that it was entirely abandoned. After all, Porky sure made it sound that way.

The masked man swooped down close to the blackened remnants of the sphere and circled around the opening he was given. With each circle he dropped down lower and lower, until he eventually tucked his wings in and dove into the facility. Claus gripped his arm with both hands and brought his legs up higher once he saw the metallic ground rush up towards him. Once inside, the masked man circled around a bit more and swung lower. When Claus wasn't releasing his arm, he spoke.

"Let go." A raspy and pathetic voice fluttered out of him, and Claus looked up at him, taken aback by both the fact that he was speaking and how horrible he sounded. When Claus didn't listen, the masked man spoke again. "Let go." He said sternly, and Claus released his hold on his arm. The masked man then let go of his arm and watched as Claus fell and rolled onto the floor. Luckily he was unscathed, and that's all that mattered.

Now that he lost the heavy load, he could land. He tilted himself back and dropped his wings, finally lowering himself to the floor. Unlike his human counterpart, he actually landed on his feet. His boots squeaked as he skidded across the floor, and his momentum was stopped when he shoulder checked the wall.

Claus groaned as he eased back up onto his feet, he then pressed a hand to his lower back and rubbed. Soon the masked man returned from his wall flirting and stood before Claus, expecting him to do something. Claus inspected the masked man, happy that he wasn't being grabbed at this point in time. He gave his back a few more rubs, then took the liberty to explore.

He stepped around the blackened room, and his eyes wandered to and fro. He looked at the various machines that were kept within this section of this building, and he glanced at a particularly maimed robot that was connected to some kind of scorched coil. He turned away from the center of the room and he looked at the crumbling sphere that used to shine a bright and vibrant yellow. He spied a low opening within the sphere and he stepped closer to it. Once he was within reach, he grabbed the burnt edges and used that to prop himself up onto the edge. He looked out at the breath taking view before him, and his urge to return home increased significantly.

The way the sun hugged the landscape reminded him of how the world looked from the sunflower field located near Tazmilly. He and Lucas would both hang out there whenever mom was particularly busy, and they both would stay until the sun began to set. Many said that watching the sunset from those fields brought good luck, and Claus would notice that luck whenever he got an extra nut bread or omelet for dinner. He tried to take in the fresh air, but that air was tainted with the lingering scent of burnt metal. Guess he had to deal with just looking at everything.

From his position he could hear scrapping behind him and heavy footsteps that somehow managed to echo within this opened area. Claus turned back and watched as the masked man explored on his own accord.

"For a killer machine, you're pretty noisy." Claus said, then turned back around. "You're lacking stealth. How the heck are you going to sneak up on your targets?" Claus questioned. Little did he know he was being snuck up on right that moment. The masked man tip toed up towards the oblivious Claus and he struck. He used his only hand to grab onto the waist line of his pants and yanked him down from his position. Claus shrieked as he was rudely pulled down from his nice view, and once he was on the floor he struck out at the masked man's legs.

"I was sight seeing you jerk!" Claus grumped as he stood back up once his pants were released. He dusted himself off and watched the orange sky shift to a wonderful shade of lilac. He took a deep breath and gave the room one last look over. He then spotted a strange little ladder that lead downwards. He walked towards it, turned around, and cautiously stepped down the ladder. The masked man followed after and soon climbed down the ladder as well. When he lowered himself down to the second floor, he was greeted with more electrical beasts.

The explosion that caused these once expensive pieces of hardware to warp horribly must have originated from some kind of faulty code. Claus strode over and pressed a hand against the warm bit of overheated coils, astonished that metal could even look the slightest bit like liquid. The masked man walked past him and took a head start on the next ladder. Claus ran his hand one of the tubes before departing. He saw the same sight for another two floors, and he couldn't help but feel this tower was monotonous. He walked towards the final ladder, and by the time he got there the masked man was already halfway down. From what he could see at the bottom, the next room was very pink.

It was a relatively long ladder, but once Claus reached the bottom, the descend was worth it. He looked at the room that had a gaudy color scheme and all sorts of toys strewn about. He watched as the masked man was fiddling with a small race car next to it's accompanying track, and he came up beside him with the biggest grin on his face.

"You know, you can't effectively play with toy cars unless you make the vroom noise." Claus said as he dropped down onto his knees. He picked up the second yellow painted plastic toy and planted it onto the ground. "Like so," he then began to softly vroom while he pushed the car back and forth. The masked man stared blankly at him, and Claus felt like his halfhearted joke was wasted. That is, until the masked man flopped down onto his butt and planted his race car on the floor as well. Claus' eyes lit up as he watched the masked man drag his car back and forth along the pink carpet.

"No no, you have to vroom!" Claus huffed, then demonstrated his proper vrooming skills. The masked man watched his car intently as he did so, and soon after he mimicked him. A soft grumble came out of him as he pushed his car to and fro, and Claus just had to tease. "The commander's playing with caaars!" Claus tormented the poor masked man, and once he realized he was caught doing non-commander things, he tossed the car aside and stood back up. "Noooo, Masky come back! I'm sooorry!" Claus reached up and laughed as he whined. When it was obvious the masked man wasn't returning, he gathered both plastic cars and chased after him. Though, as he ran, he spotted a particularly cute pink teddy bear. Oh the fun he would have with that.

He took the teddy bear within his arms as he gripped both the race cars in one hand and the teddy bear in another. As he walked past the star shaped tub, he clocked the rubber ducky. Oh how he hoped it squeaked. He shifted the teddy bear within his arm and reached out with his free hand to pluck the ducky out of the water. He gave it a squeeze and he was more than pleased to find that it did in fact squeak. He looked at the masked man, who was alerted to the ducky's presence by the squeak, and when their eyes met the masked man ran.

"Masky come back! You're gonna love these!" He called, then watched as the masked man hurriedly descended another ladder. When he came to the ladder, he looked within his arms and frowned. How was he going to get down? He looked down at the masked man and pouted.

"Maaaasky, could you hold one of these things? I'll let you hold the race cars!" Claus whined. When the masked man wouldn't listen, he had to improvise. He looked at his jacket and proceeded to stuff the teddy bear into it. After that he slipped a race car into the side of each boot. The ducky would have to go in his hand, and he was fine with that. He looked like a right fat mess as he began to climb down the ladder. He had one hand gripping onto the bars, and he went down the ladder one step at a time. He could barely see down below him thanks to the mass in front of his chest, and he began to regret his decision to take these toys with him. The masked man stopped on the lower platform and watched, taking great joy in watching poor Claus suffer.

Once both feet were situated onto the ground, Claus whined pathetically. "Please tell me there are no more ladders." The masked man shook his head as he walked along the platform, then down the steps to the second terrace just a bit below this one. Claus looked out at the nice and open area around them both, and for once he could take a breath of fresh air. Dusk air always had a different smell compared to dawn or noon air.

He cautiously walked down both flights of stairs and began to slide the teddy bear out from under his jacket. "Could you please take this? It's annoying having it under my shirt!" He whined, but the masked man didn't listen. He also lied about there being no more ladders. There was one final ladder that actually lead into the core of Thunder Tower, and the masked man didn't hesitate to climb down it. Claus however was fed up with carrying the teddy bear. He tossed it down and watched as it beaned the masked man in the face. Despite Masky's less than pleased look, Claus began to climb down the ladder as well. Oh boy he was gonna have a storm to deal with when he got down.

The masked man picked up the stuffed teddy bear and held it by it's neck. Once Claus was in reach, he brought the teddy bear back and proceeded to beat Claus with it. Claus squawked out of surprise and fell off of the ladder. It wasn't a large fall, so he wasn't hurt, but he still rolled onto his side and pulled his hands to his head. The masked man was relentless as he continued to beat Claus with the teddy bear. It wasn't until a tear in the teddy bear's neck released a bit of stuffing that he stopped. He dumped the teddy bear onto a cowering Claus and he turned away. Claus pulled his hands away from his head and looked at the crumpled heap of teddy bear that laid across his side. He picked it back up and grunted as he stood.

"You ripped it!" Claus hissed as he followed after the masked man. "I got this for you and this is how you treat it?!" He tossed the teddy bear at the masked boy, and he responded by taking it, pinning it's body into the crook between his blaster and his arm, and using his hand to tear it's head off. Once that was done he dumped the remains onto the floor and stormed towards the final ladder. Claus squinted angrily at the masked man, squeaked his duck, and followed after.

The masked man descended down the ladder quickly, and Claus followed him after he glanced at the DCMC stuff on the desk. He gripped the side of the ladder and slid down it rather than bothering with the individual steps. Both reached the floor and Claus looked around the floor and it's various doors. The masked man placed his hand against the area where skin met his blaster, and he began to scratch at the bit of jacket that covered that spot again. Claus stared at him as he scratched, and he tried to intervene.

"Stop that." He said simply. The masked man turned around and glared at him, then proceeded to scratch harder. "If you start bleeding it's not my fault, just know that!" He huffed as he turned away and walked through one of the door ways. A question then finally rose into his head; did the masked boy have blood? He did blush after he performed his PK Love attack… PK Love.

Claus suddenly turned around and exited the room he entered from and called out to the boy with the heavy looking helmet.

"Masky, what did you learn?" He asked, the way he spoke took a sudden serious tone. The masked man was just about to enter a door way by the time that Claus came storming out, and he stopped halfway in to look back at Claus. He shrugged and entered the next room. Claus growled and stormed after, then grabbed his shoulder. The masked man shrugged that shoulder, turned, and shoved out at Claus.

"What did you learn?" Claus demanded as he came closer and nearly pressed his chest against his. "You had a fever after I knocked out, and you over came it by the time I woke up. That wasn't a regular fever and I know it." He jabbed a finger against his chest. "That was a PSI fever. What did you learn?" Claus asked through grit teeth.

The masked man squinted at him past the helmet, and he leaned in close. A low gurgling voice left his lips as he answered his question. "PK Love β."

"Do you even know how to use PSI?" Claus grumbled. The masked man didn't reply, and Claus took that silence as a no. Both boys stared each other down for what felt like ages, and then Claus spoke.

"You've lost your race car privileges." Claus stated matter of factly, then turned away and walked into the next room. Masky couldn't tell what he was more confused by, the fact that Claus thought that would do something, or the fact that he actually felt some kind of sadness over losing his toy. After a moment of thought, the masked man followed Claus. When he entered the next room, he spotted Claus reaching into the sides of his boots, the rubber duck off to the side. In his hand sat his race car, and the masked man immediately lunged for that hand while Claus was distracted fishing out the other car.

Claus squeaked as the car was ripped away from his hand, and he lunged at the masked boy as a result.

"I said you lost your car privileges! Give it back or else you don't get duck privileges!" Claus then scooped up the duck and gave it a squeeze. The masked man squinted distrustfully at the rubber ducky, and he began to tuck the race car into his belt. Claus leapt out at him and shrieked.

"Don't shove it down your pants!" He cried, but due to the sudden lunge, the masked man put too much force behind the little car, and soon enough it ended up down his pants. He sure was lucky the hem of his pants was tucked into his boots. Claus flinched and stepped back, then dropped his arms.

"Okay, you can keep it." He said with a gag. He used a hand to cover his mouth as he held the rubber duck in his hand. "I am not touching your pants car." Claus stated. The masked man shrugged and stepped past Claus into another room. Claus squinted at his back and his mouth curled into a scowl, but he followed after anyways. He had to get out of this building somehow, and he sure as heck didn't even know the building's lay out.

Both boys walked through identical room after identical room, and it wasn't long until they came across the final flight of stairs. The masked man walked down them coolly while Claus took his time. That pod that sat at the bottom of those stairs looked pretty menacing.

"What is that thing?" Claus asked as soon as the masked man stepped off the final stair. The boy looked back, and Claus pointed at the pod with the pink pig nose marker pasted on the front. The masked man looked at it and reached out to open it. Once it was opened, he motioned for Claus to enter it. Claus shook his head and stopped half way down the stairs. "Heck no! I am not going in that thing!" Claus huffed, and the masked man shrugged and shut the door. Well, suits him. He could have gotten some good rest out of it, but oh well.

The orange haired boy walked down the final steps, and he brought his hands up to start fixing his hair. Ever since they both landed, he had been wandering around with horribly disheveled hair. Guess it was just in his nature to forget about his looks.

The front door was finally in sight, and the masked man was the first to step out of the building. Claus jogged to keep up with the fast moving robot boy, and he just barely clipped his arm on the closing door, but he was finally out. He looked out at the green landscape and sighed happily. Gosh, it sure was refreshing to be near grass again.

Though, upon his second look over of the terrain, he noticed large bolts that looked a lot like lightning were engraved into the ground. He walked over towards one of the tendrils, brought his foot out, and gave the ground a soft pat. It seems like electricity killed the grass in this area. He gave the ground a few more steps, and then he began to wander.

He walked forward a few paces, looked at the unscathed trees, then looked up at the building that reminded him vaguely of a used match. He leaned down and pulled up a few rocks, then chucked them out into the forest. When he found that there was nothing to do, he looked back at the masked man. The masked man loomed near the door, staring off into space. Claus snickered and walked closer towards the masked man.

"Well, someone's filling his creepy quota today." He mumbled as he came close. Though, despite his movements, the masked man had yet to look back at him. Claus tsked softly and brought a hand out to swipe it in front of his vision. When that didn't get a reaction, Claus jabbed a finger against his shoulder.

"What's wrong? Did you power down or something?" Claus asked. The masked man stood still for a few more moments before shaking his head. Claus then looked out where the masked man was looking, then looked back. "There's nothing but debris out there, what the heck are you looking at?" Claus pried. The masked man then extended his arm and pointed out at a particularly large chunk of blackened debris.

"Yeah, that's from the tower isn't it?" Claus asked. The masked man simply walked past him and towards the large hunk of metal. Claus rolled his eyes and waited to see if the masked man would turn back. It became obvious that Masky wasn't turning back, so he caved and followed him.

As Claus wandered closer, he heard a faint murmur. The closer he got, the louder and clearer it got. The masked man finally came to a stop near the large bit of debris, though what was odd was the fact that he stopped behind it as opposed to in front of it. The masked man then looked at Claus and motioned for him to come closer. Claus cocked a brow and sped up his walk, and once he was within ear shot, the murmur turned into outright speaking.

"Claus… Claus… Help..." Was what Claus could make out. That voice… That voice sounded so… Familiar.

As Claus cautiously approached the large piece of debris, the voice grew a bit stronger.

"It hurts. I-It hurts so much." It sounded like… Like Lucas. Claus swallowed hard and peered around the large chunk of metal, and low and behold he spotted the upper half of his brother peeking out from under it. His eyes widened as he sprinted around, dropped the rubber duck, and stood before the large bit of metal.

"L-Lucas?!" Claus shrieked as he looked at the big piece of debris currently pinning his brother to the ground.

"Claus." Lucas gasped halfheartedly from his face down position. His face was pale, his breath labored, and his eyes glassy. He reached out for Claus' hands as tears began to trickle down the poor blond boy's cheeks. "I-I'm so… glad." Lucas mumbled. Claus immediately took Lucas' hands within his own, then he crouched down to meet him eye to eye.

"D-Don't worry bro, we'll get you out ASAP!" Claus said, then he looked back at the masked man. The masked man just stared, he didn't even make a move to push the metal off of the poor boy. Claus growled and stood, releasing Lucas' hands in the process. "Never mind, I'll do it!" He said, and he began to push at the large hunk of metal.

"It hurts, Claus." Lucas mumbled as he rested his cheek against the soft grass below him. "I'm so tired."

"It won't hurt for long, I promise. Just- Just stay with me!" Claus continued to push with all of his might. He finally felt the bit of debris give away, and it shifted along the grass at a snails pace. After a bit of pushing, a loud and blood curdling scream left Lucas' lips, and Claus stopped pushing.

"Wh-What, what's wro..." Claus turned back around to look down at Lucas, but all he saw was red. Red fluids poured out onto the once green grass, and the fluids began to pool around his boots and around the upper half of his brother. The upper half. Lucas was gone from the waist down, and all sorts of oddly colored organs slipped out of the slit Claus created.

"Y-You said it wouldn't hurt!" Lucas shrieked out as he wailed. Claus then ducked towards his brother, collapsed onto his knees, and held his hands tightly.

"I-I'm sorry!" Claus cried out as he looked back at the masked man. Tears of both frustration and fear started to gather at the corners of his eyes as he pleaded with the masked man. "P-Please, help me! H-He's your brother too!"

The masked man didn't even look at Claus. Instead he stared at Lucas.

"It hurts so much Claus, I-I don't like this." Lucas sobbed. Claus cautiously pulled Lucas closer, but in doing that, more organs slipped out of the poor boy and a trail of blood was left behind. Claus held one of Lucas' hands in his as he eased Lucas' head onto his lap.

"You lied to me." Lucas suddenly said as he looked at Claus in the eyes. Claus felt his heart stop at that. Tears began to fall down his face and onto Lucas' cheeks, where they merged with Lucas' and fell down the sides of his face.

"I...I'm so sorry Lucas, I didn't know!" Claus wailed. He really didn't mean to critically hurt his brother. Claus then looked at the masked man. "Do something! D-Do anything, please! D-Do you not have any humanity?!" Claus screamed. The masked man stood as still as possible, and soon his hand reached up to scratch at the top of his blaster. Claus felt more tears burning behind his eyes as he looked back down at Lucas, who began to steadily grow weak.

"You… You're a liar… You've always been a liar." Lucas mumbled, and his eyes began to slowly shut.

"L-Lucas?" Claus' eyes widened as he ran a thumb across Lucas' cheek. "W-What do you mean? I-I've only ever told the truth towards y-you!"

"No, you always… Lie." Lucas' voice began to soften. "You lied about taking my toys… Eating my… omelets… And how it wasn't your fault that mom's dead." With that, Lucas finally fell limp against Claus, and Claus gently shook Lucas.

"Lucas? L-Lucas?!" Claus sobbed. More and more tears began to fall down onto Lucas' face as he leaned down and pressed his forehead against Lucas'. He sobbed loudly and cradled Lucas' head, his small form shook with every single hiccup and sniffle. He really didn't mean it.

After some time, Claus felt a hand slowly press against his shoulder, and he turned around to look up at the masked man. The masked man met his gaze and motioned up towards the darkening sky. Claus gripped onto Lucas' upper half and wailed.

"No! I am not leaving him! You can't make me le-"

"Got you." Porky's voice suddenly rung out. Claus felt his blood run cold as he heard that voice. He looked around the open field near them, but he saw no spider bed or short chubby boy. Where was that voice coming from?

"I can't believe you fell for that!" Porky's voice teased. Claus leaned away from the head of his sibling, and he looked down to peer at his face. The eyes suddenly opened and the lips curled into a wicked smile.

"You fell for the death of your own sibling, how stupid is that!" Porky mocked. It seemed like the mimic of his brother was currently the beacon for Porky's horrible shenanigans. "Couldn't you see the wires? How about the batteries? Seriously, you fell for this?!" Lucas' lips moved, but all Claus heard were Porky's words. Claus shoved the body away and stood, anger now filling his little chest as the last and final tears trickled down his cheeks. Porky continued to laugh as the robotic mimic of his brother propped itself up onto it's arms.

"You really are a moron aren't you? You don't deserve to be a commander, you deserve to be a pigmask!" Porky screeched with much glee in his voice. Claus growled, took a few steps back, and ran up to the robot. He brought his foot back and football kicked the robot square in the face. He watched as the head tore off and went flying, and he felt a sick feeling welling up in his stomach. He just decapitated something that looked similar to his brother.

The masked man looked helplessly at Claus as he stopped his scratching, and Claus walked over towards him.

"So… You knew?" Claus mumbled angrily. The masked man looked off into the distance, and Claus shoved out at him. "And you didn't bother telling me?!" Claus started to grow frustrated. The masked man didn't reply. Claus turned away and huffed as he wiped his face clean of any tears. "I hate you." Claus spat.

While Claus was turned away, the masked man allowed his wings to unfold. With a few flaps, the smell of gasoline was wafted through the air, and Claus turned back around to glare at the masked man. The masked man then extended his arm towards Claus, and Claus glowered down at it. He looked up at the masked man, turned sharply, and sprinted away. He was taking this moment to run off under the cover of dusk.

A loud boom was heard as fire began to burn the gasoline that resided in hidden away tanks, and the masked man flew forward. Claus thought he could outrun him, he really did, but soon enough he felt a hand dig into the back of his jacket and watched as the ground began to grow distant. Claus kicked, screamed, and yelled all kinds of curses, mostly those like "Drago poop eater" or "pig kisser". He was frustrated, could you blame him?

Night finally set in, and the air around them both began to chill. It was down much lower than Claus had expected, and he crossed his arms and dipped his hands under his pits just to keep them warm. He shivered slightly and looked up at the masked man that seemed completely un-phased by the chilling temperatures. The way his helmet cast it's shadows made him look much more ominous, and he looked away soon after he came to that realization.

Both boys flew in silence, the only white noise being the roaring of the jets on the masked man's back. As they both stayed quiet, Claus took that moment to reflect. During his reflection, he vowed not to ever trust anything that looked like Lucas, unless it actually was Lucas himself. It was easier said than done, but he'd have to learn some day.

Claus then realized something very very important. He hadn't eaten at all that day.

He brought a hand down and gently kneaded his empty stomach, and suddenly it growled loud enough that he swore it sounded like a lion. He glanced up to see if the masked man had heard, and his eyes met with the masked man's pitch black ones. He flinched at the look and looked away.

"I'm hungry." Claus admitted. The masked man stared for a bit longer before turning his head back up to look at the approaching city. The city looked so… bright from their position. Like it was some kind of bright, multi-colored sun suspended in the middle of darkness. Though, the large Empire Pork Building only had a few floors lit. Could it be that some floors actually acted as dorms?

Regardless of that fact, the masked man flew up to the 100th floor, and flew in through the large opened window. He lowered both Claus and himself back onto the ground, and Claus stood in the middle of the moon lit room. Within the light that only partially illuminated the room, Claus spotted something strange. A small twin sized bed, similar to that he used to sleep in at home.

Porky's voice suddenly filled the room, and Claus turned to stare off into the darkness where he heard the voice originate from.

"Good evening Claus, we finally got you a bed. This is your new home now, so get comfortable." Porky's voice sounded dry and expressionless, as if he was almost frustrated at the kind act he did. Claus looked at the bed, stepped closer to it, and glared at it.

"I'm not sleeping in it." Claus stated simply.

"Masky, would you please do the honors of tucking your friend in?" The masked man then nodded and approached Claus. Claus looked at the approaching figure, and he jumped in bed to avoid any implied beatings. Once both feet were up onto the bed, the masked man stopped moving, and turned to shuffle on towards the shadows.

"Good boy. Now, get some rest, you're going to need it for tomorrow." Porky stated, and a loud click was then heard. Seems like he was talking through a speaker. Claus sat upon the bed and stared out at the crescent moon that was wonderfully framed by the window. He breathed in through his nose and looked off into the shadows where he saw the masked man shuffle off into. The masked man stood, covered by darkness, and all Claus could see was the faint red glow of the usually covered eye. Claus frowned. Guess he wouldn't be sleeping any time soon. He then looked back to one of his boots, reached in, and retrieved the toy car he lodged in there long ago. He was grateful it hadn't been lost in the whole dilemma with the Lucas wanna be.

He took the toy car and tossed it aside onto the ground, and it made a small plastic clink as it hit the ground. He noticed the masked man look up from his position, but soon he relaxed and lowered his head again. Looks like some kind of stand by mode, at least, from where Claus was sitting it did.

Claus then looked back up at the moon and sighed wistfully. Oh how he hoped Lucas could see how wonderful the moon was… Where ever he was.


	7. First Needle

The night was one poorly spent. The young orange haired boy sat in bed, his eyes wide and adjusted to the darkness. He couldn't sleep. The paranoia of something horrible being sprung on him was just too great for him to ignore, so he decided swear to himself he wouldn't fall asleep. Instead, he busied himself with watching the clone.

The world he saw around him could be simplified into a few monotonous colors; black, blue, and varying shades of gray. The clone stood in the corner, his pale face peeking out from the shadows like an ominous ghost. His eyes were shaded in such a way it looked as if there were voids in their place, and his features were warped due to the shadow that draped over him like a blanket. Claus could feel the coldness of fear welling in his stomach the longer he stared at this boy. He could have sworn that he was staring at him, and he would attest to that with the fact that he could feel his look burning into his skull.

Color began to seep in through the darkness, and the blanket of black was soon lifted from this large room. Gentle rays of sunlight illuminated the room through the large glass, and the sky began to shift from a midnight sky to that of an early morning. Shades of purple, orange, and blue painted the sky as if it were a swirling canvas. The cloud all began to vanish, and birds finally took to the skies once the sun took the moon's place. Yet, Claus missed this gorgeous sunrise.

His tired eyes were still locked onto the doppelganger, as they were throughout the entire night. Bags began to form under his eyes and his eyes drooped in a way that showed he was immensely exhausted. His head began to bob as he struggled not to collapse and fall into the world of dreams. The clone still had not moved from his position, and Claus thought as long as he was watching him, he wouldn't move.

"Good morning, sunshine." Porky's voice suddenly interjected, and Claus jumped and quickly turned his head towards the sound. "I'm guessing you slept well." Porky's voice was full of nothing but sarcasm, and Claus brought his hands up to rub at his bloodshot eyes.

"Yeah, I slept well." Claus grumbled back, but a shaking yawn betrayed his words. His limbs felt weak and his mind was cloudy; he could barely focus on the world around him, which is why he didn't notice the masked man walking towards him. When the masked man's cold hand placed itself against Claus' arm, Claus jumped and immediately pushed at the boy.

"Don't touch me!" He growled lowly. The masked man resented that. He pulled back the freezing hand, curled his fingers into a fist, and swung with all of his might. The hit connected with Claus' stomach, and a violent exhale of air was heard from him as he wrapped his arms around his torso. This bot just knocked the air out of him. He wheezed and panted as he doubled over in both pain and lack of air, and his face pressed into the cotton bed sheets. If it weren't for the fact that he was in danger at this point, he would have fallen asleep.

The masked man stepped back with a soft grunt, then held his blaster arm up and pointed it at Claus. When Claus turned to look at the masked man, he was greeted by the barrel of the dangerous weapon. He let out a soft squeak of fear as he backed away from the blaster.

"Looks like you should be more careful around this one. Just because you play with toys with him doesn't mean you get to push him around and tell him what to do!" Porky said with a big bellied laugh. Claus continued to back up until he ended up rolling off of the bed, and he bit his tongue to keep from crying out in pain. The masked man crawled up onto the bed and loomed over Claus from above, using his hand to keep himself propped up while he continued to point the uncharged blaster at Claus. Claus reached up and pushed at the barrel of the blaster, and got a rather nasty surprise.

His hair was snatched up by the helmet wearing boy and his head was forcibly cocked back and pressed against the side of the bed. A soft hum was then heard, which signified that the blaster was starting to turn on. A light blue glow began to illuminate everything in the blaster's path, and that included Claus' face.

"Oh, you're not going to ask how I know about your little play date?" Porky laughed. Claus had tuned out Porky's voice. He was too focused on the blaster that now threatened to end his life, and the exhaustion he faced was not doing him any good. The masked man's lips twitched and the blaster was then lowered, but Claus didn't dare make a move. He stared up at Masky, his lips parted in an expression of shock as he was unsure of what to do. He then gave Claus a shake, and Claus was snapped out of the fog within his mind. Masky then used the blaster to point upward, where the speakers were located, and shook him again.

"Wh..What?" Claus asked, his voice soft as he blinked back the tiredness. Porky laughed again, loving just how out of it this poor ginger was.

"You can barely even process what's going on! This is great!" Porky was having a grand ol' time just laughing at Claus' current state, and it showed by the minute he took to get all of the laughter out of his system. Claus' eyes narrowed at the masked man's staring face as anger started to well up inside of him. He didn't know why, but Porky's laughter this time irritated him to the max. He used his hands to try and untangle the masked man's fingers from his hair, but each attempt was greeted with the tightening of said fingers.

"Let go of me." Claus slurred as his cheek was roughly pressed into the soft side of the mattress. The masked man began to pull on his hair upwards, trying to get Claus back onto the bed. Pathetic whimpers left Claus' mouth as he followed the masked man's hand. The hair pulling hurt more than he'd like to admit. Without much protest, Claus climbed back up onto the bed while the masked man slid off of it. Once Claus was on the cushioned mattress, Masky pulled his hand away and stared at him, and Claus returned the look.

The punch he took to the gut not only made his nerves burn with pain, but it also roused something he put off for a while. The tense silence in the room allowed for the sound to be heard clearly, and what both boys heard was a very low rumbling. Claus had forgotten about keeping himself fed. With an embarrassed gasp he sat up onto his knees and placed a hand to his stomach to uselessly silence the monster in his empty stomach.

"Looks like someone's hungry, and this time it isn't just my Ultimate Chimera." Porky snickered. Seems like he too could have heard his tummy growl, or so Claus thought. "Go down into the kitchen and get your brother something, you disgrace." Porky ordered, and the masked man saluted before walking off towards the elevator.

"He's not my brother." Claus mumbled softly as he slid down onto his side. His eyes slowly shut while he kept his hand on his growling stomach. It was a difficult choice; either stay awake and hopefully be fed, or fall asleep and get the rest he needed. Claus eventually fell into the latter, he knew Porky wouldn't feed him. It felt almost too nice of the piggy bastard to do such a thing, and indeed, it was. Claus wasn't going to be fed without _someone_ suffering at least.

The masked man pressed a hand to the elevator, and the doors opened as if they were waiting for him. He stepped in, turned on his heels, and faced the exit as the doors began to close. Without any input, the number upon the control panel began to glow, and the red numbers above said panel began to drop. His arms brought themselves behind his back and his eyes closed as he waited for the next time these doors would open. He gripped the warm barrel of his blaster and let his thumb run along the rim of it, just to keep himself preoccupied while he waited.

For the first time in a long while he began to think. Of course, Masky was capable of problem solving thought, but he was never capable of independent thought, at least he wasn't for a long while. His mind pondered over something simplistic, something no one would bat an eyelash at: What would his new pet eat? Would the ginger boy eat burgers? What about candy? Could he even swallow down a slice of pizza? These kinds of minimal thoughts began to run through his mind. It was his decision after all, so he had to think of what the starving boy would need to stop his cravings.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open, snapping the masked man out of his small train of thought. He looked forward and into the supposed kitchen, but the first thing he saw was a colonel that stood in the middle of the first room. The colonel strode forward, his hands behind his back, and spoke.

"Good morning, sir." The colonel said, lacking any fear that most of the other pigmasks had for the masked man. Masky looked up at the colonel, stared for a bit, then nodded in a form of greeting. The colonel sighed and brought a hand out to stop the elevator doors from closing. The masked man cocked a brow at the motion, and his own arms lowered themselves down so they would rest at his sides. He must have had something important to tell him.

"You have been relieved of your kitchen duties." The colonel said simply. His unblinking eyes focused on the colonel, and he looked just to make sure this was a serious statement. After there was silence between the two, the masked man looked to the control panel and went to press the 100th button. But before he could press it, the colonel gently took his hand and pulled it away.

"Porky asked for you, and he's currently in his fan room at the moment." He then redirected his hand down to the 32nd button. The masked man was appalled at the fact that he was touched, and he yanked his hand away once the button glowed it's yellowish hue. He grimaced and huffed at the colonel, who didn't seem phased at that. Yet, he didn't move away from the doors after the button was pressed.

"There was one last thing Porky wanted." The colonel added. "I need you to take off your helmet for this."

The masked man looked at the colonel, his frown still strong, and reached up for his helmet. He hooked his fingers under the top of the helmet and pulled it off, he then held it to his side and looked up at the colonel. The colonel gulped down some spit and shuffled a bit closer, and that was when the masked man noticed the trembling. The colonel then raised his hand high and brought it down with such great force and speed that the masked man barely had time to react to the motion.

A loud sound came once the hit connected with the masked man's cheek, and he realized just what had occurred. He was slapped.

The colonel quickly jumped back and removed his hand from the elevator doors while the masked man was still stunned. He fumbled uselessly against his person as he looked for the phone in which Porky called him on, all the while a red hand mark began to show upon the masked man's cheek.

"I-I'm so sorry sir, but those were Porky's orders, I swear!" The colonel blathered, but once the masked man came to, he glared at the offending white pigmask. He ran out of the elevator, tossed his helmet onto the ground, and charged at the fearful pigmask. The pigmask let out a shrill cry as his hands were brought up defensively, but that didn't do him any favors. The masked boy outright tackled the pigmask, and now both laid on the ground. The pigmask held his hands up and pressed them to the masked man's shoulders while he wailed for his own life to be spared.

"P-Please, I said I was sorry! I-I shouldn't have done that b-but it was Porky's orders!" The colonel cried. The masked man wasn't having any of that, and he used his blaster arm to push both of his away while he reeled his hand back for a punch.

Porky's voice then stopped him from issuing said punch.

"He's right. I did order him to slap you. Now get off of him and report to the fan room, or else." Porky's voice echoed throughout the designated kitchen, a tone of obvious anger layered over his words. The masked man looked up at the ceiling, then glared down at the pigmask. He gave his arm a jerk and watched as the pigmask cowered. A harsh exhale left the masked man's nose as he rose from his position, and he gave the pigmask one final look over before storming towards his helmet.

He scooped the helmet up into his hand, sprinted into the elevator, and watched as the elevator's doors began to slide closed. Porky must have had this thing waiting for him. He didn't dwell too much on the events that occurred, it just wasn't in his nature to, so he simply slid on his mask and tucked in any stray tuffs of hair that might have been pushed downward. Now, all that mattered to him was pleasing his king.

The elevator dinged yet again, and the doors opened to reveal the deep pink room that was offensive to _all_ of the senses. Yes, even including taste. Yet, the masked man didn't seem phased by the poor choice of colors and decorations, he was more focused on the fat corpse currently laying on the equally pink bed, surrounded by two adoring fans. Both women laid their eyes on the approaching young boy, and one even spoke out about him.

"Oh, and who's this little cutie?" The blond woman inquired as she stroked Porky's hair. The other woman giggled as she curled her finger at the masked man.

"He's so cute! I could just eat him up! C'mere sweetheart!" The brunette chirped.

The masked man knew these were all lies.

"Oh, him? He's my son. My wonderful little boy." Porky purred. Both women gasped out, and the brunette even stood and walked towards the masked man. She lowered herself and gently pinched his unmarked cheek.

"He looks just like you! Oh, oh my… Did someone hit your son?" The woman then asked once she noticed the red hand print across the other cheek. The masked man used his hand to push her hand away, and Porky's Cheshire smile fell. There was a tense moment of silence as he gently nudged the blond woman away.

"Ladies, I'd like to ask for you two to leave for a moment. Go through that doorway and shut the door." Porky sounded so bland, so unemotive, so… cold. Both women nodded and they each stepped into the next room over. Once the door closed, Porky set his attention onto the masked man. The masked man looked back at Porky and walked closer to the bed-ridden man.

"Good, glad I didn't have to order you to come closer." Porky growled. "What are you?" Porky then asked.

"Chi..me...ra." Masky sounded out in his raspy voice. He didn't quite understand what a chimera was, nor was he aware he was one, but he had heard the term be used in reference to him. Porky didn't like that answer.

"No you idiot!" Porky screamed out, "I mean rank! What are you in rank?!"

"Commander." The masked man replied and Porky tried to sit up in bed at that.

"Commander." Porky mocked in his gurgly and raspy voice. "Don't talk to me like that you moron, use your actual voice! And take your helmet off when I'm talking to you!" Porky was outright berating Masky and Masky didn't understand why. He didn't hesitate on removing his mask, he then held it comfortably within his hand.

"Commander!" The masked man bellowed out, using his commandeering voice. Porky then leaned close as his lips were pulled back in a sneer.

"Then why does the commander play with cars?" His voice was low, almost down to a whisper, as his plump hand reached out and grabbed the front of the masked man's jacket. The masked man didn't know how to reply. His mouth hung open as if to respond, but no words left his lips. Porky reeled his other hand back and slapped the masked man's untouched cheek.

"I can't believe this. I train you to fight to the best of your ability, I teach you the ways of being a commander, and I even give you an entire army to command, and _this_ is what you do?! Play with toys with some idiot almost as stupid as you?!" Porky screamed, and before the masked man could really process what he was saying, he brought his hand back and slapped his other cheek.

"You still have the car in your pants, don't you?" Porky snarled. The masked man gave a small nod. Porky then pushed at the masked man, sending him tumbling back onto his butt. In the fall he dropped his helmet and it rolled a bit away from him. "Pull that thing out! You don't need it, why do you even still have it?!"

The masked man looked down at his right pants leg, where the car currently resided, and he tried to think of how to retrieve said car. He began to tug on the laces of his boot, once they were loose enough he pulled off his boot and reached into his pants leg. He pulled out the small plastic car, set it down, and got to work putting his boot back on. It was difficult since he only had one hand, but he would manage.

"You're forgetting how much I can see, my little mistake. If I catch you even being remotely friendly towards that idiot, I will have you dismantled and killed, understood?!" Porky threatened. The masked man stood, gave his foot a few stomps, and nodded. He then turned and saluted Porky, but Porky wasn't ready to let him go.

"Come close, I'm still not done with you." Porky hissed, then curled a finger at the masked man. Masky stepped closer. Once he was within reach, Porky swung his hand and slapped one cheek, then swung again and backhanded the other. The masked man pulled back and held a hand to one of his cheeks as they began to burn from the various hits they received.

"Now I'm done. Go make sure your pet ate." Porky commanded. The masked man turned and ran out of the room. On his way back towards the elevator he ducked down and snatched up his helmet in hand before bolting. He ran past both horrified women that had heard this whole ordeal go down, and when he waited for the elevators to open, he watched their faces changed once Porky called them.

"Alright my sweethearts, I'm ready for your love~" Porky's voice called in a sweet tone. The masked man didn't stay long to see what he meant by 'love', and he was thankful that the doors opened without too long of a delay. He stepped inside, pivoted on his heels, and watched the doors close. Once they were shut, a soft sigh left his lips. He then reached up on the control panel and pressed the 100th button.

When the lift began to rumble, he stepped back and laid against the safety railing along the back of the elevator. He breathed in through his nose and out his mouth in an attempt to relax himself, but found that it didn't work in the slightest. His muscles were still tensed up, his jaw clamped, and his breathing rather rough. He just didn't understand why Porky had to hurt him, he was a pretty good boy for the most part. So what if he played with a toy car, was that seriously enough to hurt someone over?

He looked down at the helmet he held in his hand, then raised it slightly to look it over. He ran his thumb over the widows peak the helmet had and his eyes looked over the small camera embedded off to the side. It usually went unnoticed until you looked hard at this helmet, considering the camera had a similar color to the helmet itself. He felt his body relax once he looked at the camera, and he quickly went about putting the helmet back on.

He didn't find peace in knowing that the camera was there. In fact, it was far from peace that he felt. The camera just reminded him that he was being watched, and anything he did would be seen and reported back to the decrepit man that was usually bed bound. The relaxation was not that of peace. It was that of submission.

The doors opened up for another time, this time back onto the 100th floor, and the masked man stepped out once his helmet was situated back onto his head. His eyes immediately focused on the bed, specifically the lump that laid upon it. He walked over as silently as he could and he craned his neck to get a better look at the boy, and he got an answer on whether or not he was fed.

Claus laid on his back on the bed, to his side was a large box of pizza with two slices missing from the usual eight slices. Masky knew that neither of those slices made it into his mouth. Though, Claus didn't seem to mind. He laid there, his chest rising and falling as his mouth hung open, soft snores exiting said mouth. And then, Masky was over come with one emotion in particular: Anger.

The pent up frustration and anger he had over Porky's little beating made his blood boil, and now that he saw his mimic that earned him the beating in the first place, he was angry. He grit his teeth, bent his non-blaster arm, brought said arm up, and slammed his elbow down onto Claus' chest.

Claus woke up once he felt his lungs under attack. A loud exhale of air left his gaping mouth, and he inhaled sharply right after. His hands dug into the bed sheets and he brought his legs up to try and kick at his unseen attacker, but sadly, Masky was one step ahead of him. The masked man slipped between his legs, grabbed the front of his shirt, and yanked him close before smacking him a few times with the blaster.

Claus was more than disorientated, and the hits to his skull weren't doing him any favors. Since he didn't get a chance to see his attacker, he just assumed the worst. Taking pieces from his subconscious nightmare, he spoke.

"D-DAD, NO!" Claus wailed out. The masked man stopped shortly after he heard those words. A cold chill ran up his spine as he looked down at the boy that now held his head and sobbed into his arms. He just couldn't stop staring. Dad… dad no. Those words, coupled by the sheer terror that Claus felt. It all felt too familiar. It all felt too similar. It all felt too… Him.

The masked man stood there, frozen. He felt colder than he had ever been in his entire life. It was an eerie feeling, and by the growing frown on his face, he didn't like it.

Claus however was recovering from the fear of his nightmare coming to life. He placed a hand against his chest and wheezed while he blinked back tears that threatened to fall down his cheeks. He then turned his head up to look back at the shocked masked man, and he too began to feel anger.

"W-What was that for?!" Claus croaked out. He then sat up and took a few deep breaths to get rid of the slight raspiness of his voice. "Are you going to attack me for sleeping too?! Isn't that what you wanted me to do?!" Claus was rightfully upset. The masked man still didn't snap out of his cold daze, that is, until Claus reached out and shoved at him.

The masked man leaned back and nearly toppled over at the push, but he came out of his strange trance before he could tip over. He stumbled back and he looked at Claus, and then he stared again. Claus frowned and furrowed his brows, expecting an answer. When the masked man stared, he took in every little detail of Claus' face. He couldn't help but feel another sense of familiarity with this young boy, but he couldn't pin why. His mouth then opened up as if to speak, but then it shut shortly after. Claus cocked his brows in surprise.

"…Did you want to say something?" Claus asked. The masked man visibly jumped at that, but he shook his head. It's not like he would say anything worthwhile, or so he thought. Claus squinted at the masked man, but he decided to leave the topic alone. He then heard a soft and raspy voice float out from the masked man.

"Food. Eat." He said simply. Claus blinked, confused as to what he meant. When Masky motioned towards the plate of now cold pizza, Claus grimaced.

"I'm not eating it." He stated sternly. Masky flinched and quickly gave him a dirty look. He took the plate of cold pizza and pushed it closer towards Claus, but Claus shook his head. "I told you, I'm not eating it."

"Why?!" Masky belted, which gave Claus a start. Claus held a hand to his chest and swallowed hard; he had a vague feeling that he managed to piss off this robot boy. Despite his fear and his low urge to reply, he didn't answer. The masked man looked down at the pizza and spoke once again.

"Poison?" His soft and raspy voice hissed out. It was like there were only two volumes to the masked man: Incredibly loud and barely understandable. Claus turned his head away, acting as if he didn't want to eat, but the loud demonic growl that came from his stomach said otherwise. The masked man breathed softly and took a slice within his hand, then held it towards Claus' face. He cleared his throat, which caused Claus to turn his head back around, and Claus immediately jerked back and threw a hand over his mouth.

"I said no!" Claus yelled, quite upset he was almost forced to eat probably poisoned pizza.

"No." The masked man murmured.

"Yeah, no. I said no to eating the pizza, and no means no! Keep that thing away from me!" Another gurgle from his empty stomach gave away his state.

The masked man cast his eyes down onto the slice of pizza, then did something that caught Claus off guard. He brought the pizza up to his lips and took a bite out of it, then looked to Claus for some kind of reaction. Claus watched, and his nose crinkled slightly. That prompted him to start chewing down the bit he bit off.

"Are you even able to eat?" Claus jabbed, and that roused a pause from the masked man's chewing, but he resumed shortly after. He just had to take a chance. Once the food was able to be swallowed, the masked man gulped it down and sat there for a bit. When some time passed, he looked at Claus and waved the pizza around. See, not poisoned. Claus squinted distrustfully at the masked man and took a slice of pizza from the plate. Instead of eating it however, he just mimed the action and held the pizza up to his lips to make it seem convincing.

The masked man looked down at the slice of pizza and thought for the longest time. It had been so long since he had eaten or even snacked, and the bit of pizza he had tasted pretty okay. His mouth opened up and he scarfed down the slice, his motions showing just how hungry he was. Claus watched and was startled by how quickly the masked man dusted that slice, it didn't even look like he chewed or savored the slice at all. Claus pulled the pizza slice away, then raised it towards the masked man while he chewed on the last bits of crust.

Masky shook his head, denying the second slice. Claus persisted and began to shove the slice against his face.

"Just eat it, I'll eat the rest of the pizza." Claus grumbled, and the masked man took the second slice in his hand while Claus pulled the plate with the 4 remaining slices closer to himself. The masked man swallowed and made quick work of the second slice he was given. Claus was almost entranced by watching the masked man eat. He had never thought he'd ever meet something that would eat faster than a chicken pecking at seeds. Once he met eyes with the masked man again, he turned away and grabbed a slice. After a bit of hesitation he took the first bite, and he was amazed.

"Oh my god. This is actually good!" Claus commented. The masked man nodded in agreement, and Claus chuckled as he too began to eat with such speed like the masked man had.

Barely any time had passed before Claus finished the plate of pizza, and he was more than content to have finally been fed, even if it hadn't been a full meal. The masked man sat off to the side in silence, having watched Claus eat just to make sure he ate every last bit of pizza. Once the plate was empty and Claus was leaning back in his bed, the masked man took the plate. He stood from the bed and began to walk towards a few of the pillars located by the window, but Claus spoke up.

"Hey, wait!" He called, and the masked man spun around on his heels to peer at Claus from behind his helmet. Claus stood from his bed and almost sprinted over to the masked man. It seems like he really wanted to do something. He then suddenly ducked down and crouched, and the masked man nearly kicked Claus in the face. Hey, when someone ducks down at a near run, you'd think the worst! But it wasn't the worst.

"Your shoe's untied." Claus mumbled. His fingers grabbed onto the loose laces of the boot that the masked man took off earlier, and he began to tie them back up. He made sure to double knot the laces and he helped tuck in the tacky orange pants. The masked man was in awe as all this went down, and when Claus stood back up he only stared at him with his mouth hanging open. Claus gulped and kicked at the ground, then started to turn away.

"Why?" The masked man said with a whisper. Claus looked over his shoulder and shrugged.

"A bit of kindness goes a long way. At least, that's what a friend told me. Maybe now you won't punch me in the face!" Claus teased. The masked man grimaced at that, turned, and stormed off. Claus laughed to himself. "It's true! There's no denying it!" He called after him. After the masked man slipped behind a pillar, Claus heard a door open and shut, followed by the sound of parting footsteps, and his eyes went wide.

There were doors here? Actual doors? Not just stupid elevators that smelled like donuts, sweat, and desperation? He sprung up from his seat on the bed and charged towards the pillar that the masked man disappeared behind. He dipped behind it and looked, then saw a large door. He grinned and tried the knob, but the door didn't budge. Seemed like the one handed boy locked it before he went on his grumpy way. Claus cursed under his breath and kicked the door, then began his walk of shame back to his bed.

And now that his hunger was satisfied, his other issue came back at full force. His body was overcome with sudden exhaustion and another yawn left his lips. He brought his arms back and stretched up, ready to catch a wink of sleep. Claus shuffled to the bed, tossed himself onto it, and allowed his head to hang from the other side. His body relaxed and his breathing began to even out.

"What do you think you're doing?" Of course. He could never win in this damn building.

"Sleeping." He said simply, he then rolled over onto his back to stare up at the ceiling.

"Why?" Porky's voice fluttered throughout the room.

"Because I'm tired, that's why! Shut your trap already and let me sleep!" He snipped.

It was then that everything went silent. Claus thought he had finally won the small bickering battle. His eyes drooped and his muscles relaxed, and soon enough his head slumped back in slumber. Finally, peace and quiet! Now he could get some sleep, despite having been beaten awake earlier. When you've gone a full night without sleep, your sense of judgement tends to suffer for it.

Claus began to snore softly by the time an intruder slipped into the room. It was silent in it's shadow hopping, and it set it's sights directly on Claus. It began to circle the bed, and each lap it made it made the circle tighter and tighter. Once it was close enough to the sleeping Claus, it attacked.

The intruder snatched up Claus' ankles and yanked him off the bed. Claus awoke with a shout when the bed was pulled out from under him, but any and all attempts at calling for help ended when his head collided with the floor. He let out a pained grunt and placed his hands over the now sore spot, but as he did that he felt the cold floor moving under his back. His eyes cracked open and he peered up at just what was dragging him.

"Good morning again, my little gingersnap!" Porky's voice crowed, this time the voice came from a blond haired boy that was currently pulling Claus along.

"W-Who the heck are you?!" Claus yelled, but flinched when the pain in the back of his head twinged.

"You don't recognize me, do you? You're even more blind than the masked man!" The blond boy laughed, and Claus squinted.

"What are you?" He asked in reference to the red light situated atop the boy's head.

"A robot! What else would I be? I can just barely pilot this thing around, you really expect me to stand and shed a couple of years?" It was then that Claus realized just what this was.

"So… You're Porky, but… a robot?" He asked just to make sure.

"Duh! I'm a Porkybot! The closest thing to a moving me you'll ever get!" The robot scoffed. Claus then began to glare at the bot that had no visible eyes.

"Let go of me you freak!" Claus ordered, then tried to kick his legs. Due to the grip on his ankles and the fact that they were straight out, Claus was barely able to even bend them let alone kick them.

"When I say good morning, I mean good morning. I told you to get some sleep last night and you didn't! That was your only chance to sleep and you blew it, so you have no right to sleep now!" The Porkybot said as he marched towards the pillar that the masked man had disappeared behind.

"I said let me go! Are you deaf?!"

"No, but I am stubborn!" The Porkybot laughed. They then slipped behind the pillar, and the Porkybot walked towards the door. The door thudded against him as he walked into it, and Claus burst out into laughter.

"So much for being a robot Porky! Guess you're still as stupid and smelly as ever!" Claus chortled, his eyes shut with mirth. Though, as he was laughing, the door began to open slowly. Claus was practically incapacitated with laughter that he hadn't noticed the creaking door. It wasn't until he felt his head hit the first step that he realized they were past the door.

Below them both was a spiraling staircase that went a horrifyingly long way, presumably to the first floor, and the Porkybot had a devious ideas for this staircase.

"You know, the masked man is probably already on the 59th floor by now. Maybe you should run down there and join him." There was a sinister tone to his voice, and Claus struggled to grab onto the safety railing of these stairs. Sadly, the Porkybot knew that he would try and prevent his imminent suffering. So, without even another moment to think, the Porkybot turned, jumped over Claus' body, and gave his body a harsh shove just so he would start rolling down the stairs.

Claus at first whined when the rolls were small and stung, but the more he rolled the faster he got.

"See ya next fall, Clausy boy!" The Porkybot chirped from atop the steps as Claus took the first turn in the stairs. Each couple of stairs began to hurt and the back of his head slammed against each step. It began to snowball into an excruciating experience, and Claus went silent as he struggled to stop himself. Each attempt was met with his fingers slipping and him falling down a few more steps. It wasn't until that he came across the first platform of the 99th floor that he stopped rolling.

His back and head both collided with the wall, and his vision blurred as he lowered his shoulders. Every inch of him ached, he didn't even want to move given that fact. He groaned softly and closed his eyes just so the world would stop turning right in front of him. He couldn't help but feel a bit nauseous too, given the fact he finished eating not too long ago.

The sound of footsteps snapped him out of his daze, he then quickly tried to stand but ended up flopping onto his side. His legs were far too weak and his head still spun, rendering him immobile for the time being. The worst part about the footsteps was the fact that Claus couldn't tell where they were coming from. The echos within this expansive stair case swallowed up the original sound in the process. Among the footsteps Claus swore he could still hear himself whimpering about 40 floors down.

Claus glanced up the stairs to see if it was the Porkybot that was coming down, but there was no hide nor hair of the blond bot. He then turned his head down to look further down the stairs, and he jerked back when he saw the masked man's face peering just from the first turn.

"Don't do that!" Claus cried out after a girlish shriek left his mouth. "That's creepy and scary! How would you like it if someone did that to you?!" He whined.

The masked man continued further up the steps and held his hand out for Claus to take. Claus huffed and snatched up his hand, but he nearly doubled over once the pain in his lower back flared up the moment he tried to stand. He felt the masked man's cool blaster press against his back, almost as if he were helping him stand up.

"See, kindness does go a long way." Claus teased, which got him a quick pinch to the arm. He hissed softly and gripped onto the safety railing. "It was a joke, relax!" He grumbled. The masked man stared him down for a bit before starting to walk down the stairs. Halfway down the second flight that led to the 98th floor, he stopped and turned to look up at Claus. When Claus wasn't moving, he motioned for him with his hand. Claus cocked a brow and continued down the stairs.

"What? What is it? Is it something important?" Claus inquired, the sounds of his footsteps echoing down the staircases. The masked man was currently standing before an opening in the railing, and Claus instinctively grabbed onto the railing. "T-That's a safety hazard." He mumbled, eyeing up the masked man. He was not going to risk getting shoved off of the 98th floor.

The masked man held out his hand towards Claus, then his wings suddenly expanded. Claus made a strange gurgling noise at the sudden expansion, which got a confused look from Masky. Claus cleared his throat and looked off, embarrassed that he made the noise. It was just a gut reaction… Actually it was him stifling a scream, but no one needed to know that!

"D-Do we have to? Isn't there an elevator near by or something?" He asked, trying to find alternatives to flying down. The masked man shook his head, and Claus took his hand with a sigh. "Alright, but if I get hurt, it's entirely your-" Before Claus could even finish his accusation, the masked man jumped off of the balcony, pulling Claus along. Claus was paralyzed with fear once the railing disappeared out from under him, poor boy couldn't even muster the courage to scream.

Even then, he wouldn't have been able to scream for long. The high speed falling coupled with the similar looking and swirling staircase made his vision spin. He ended up feeling a bit dizzy, so he closed his eyes and tried to keep his 'breakfast' within his stomach.

"W-When are you gonna use your jets?" Claus inquired and the masked man turned down to look at him. They had been falling for quite some time now, enough so that they had already reached terminal velocity. Activation of his jets at this point could spell disaster. So, the masked man had to take matters into his own hands...hand. Literally.

The masked man slowly pulled Claus closer, once in range he wrapped his arms around Claus, making sure to press his blaster arm against the small of his back. Claus spluttered as he shoved at the masked man, but his intentions soon became clear to Claus once he felt his head snap back and his body be pulled downward. The masked man had activated his jets, which put a good bit of force behind the gravity that was pulling Claus down. Since Claus didn't have wings, he couldn't pull himself upwards as smoothly as the masked man, so Masky had to take precautions. He wouldn't have wanted to kill Claus with whiplash after all. If Claus had to die, he should die a more noble death! Maybe fighting him or something.

The masked man began to hover in air as Claus recovered from the whiplash. He wheezed and turned his head back up towards Masky, but he flinched in pain while doing so. Looks like he sprained his neck. The masked man tutted softly, almost scolding him for not following the proper procedures to avoid whiplash, but Claus glared up at him. Claus didn't know the procedures, because he never, y'know, _flew around_ before.

"Don't you— ow— make that noise at me!" He yelled, but the masked man ignored his gripe. Both boys began to smoothly fall down to the last floor, but the masked man stopped before they reached the lobby floor. He then hovered up a bit higher and stepped onto the second platform just above the lobby. In other words, the second floor.

The masked boy continued to hold Claus in his weird state as he hobbled on over towards the closed door and, since his hands were full, he thumped his foot against the door. After a few good 'knocks' the door came open with a white pigmask at the door.

"O-Oh, Masky! Hello! U-Uh, what's wrong with your friend?" The red crossed pigmask asked out of curiosity, but the masked man ignored her. Instead he waddled on in with his load, tucked his wings into his back, and let his eyes search around for something. The door led directly into one of the mostly empty hallways, leaving the masked man a bit stumped as to where the thing he wanted was.

"What is it Masky? What do you need?" Asked another pigmask that just so happened to notice the two young boys upon exiting one of the rooms within that hallway. The masked man looked to her, cleared his throat, and spoke.

"Revitalizing machine." He hissed out. The pigmask only cocked her head slightly.

"Excuse me? Could you repeat that?" She requested. The masked man cleared this throat again and began to yell.

"Revitalizing machine!" He screamed.

"Oh, that! It's just around that corner!" The nurse chirped, pointing off to the end of the hallway that made a sharp turn to the right. The masked man nodded his head and began to walk towards the corner.

"R-Revitalizing machine?" Claus asked, his face currently pressed against the masked man's chest. It was strange. He couldn't hear a single heart beat. Not even a single thump. "What's that?"

The masked man remained silent as he turned the corner, and there it sat. The strange pod Claus had seen back at Thunder Tower. The masked man came close to the pinkish pod and lowered Claus down onto the floor, allowing him to see what they were talking about.

"N-No!" Claus spat out as he held a hand to his neck, "I-I don't want to go in! You can't make me!" He screamed. The masked man pressed his lips into a tight frown and Claus shrunk under that look. "I-I'm fine, I swear." He whispered. The masked man squinted, then grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up and onto his feet. It took Claus a bit, but he stood up, his hand still held up against his neck. When Claus hissed in pain, the masked man glared at him.

"Don't look at me like that, I-I swear I'm fine!" Claus sounded as if he were ready to deck someone in the face if they dared touch him. The masked man only glared harder at that.

"Why?" The masked man asked hoarsely. Claus tried to turn away from him, but the pain in his neck prevented him from doing so.

"I-It's going to turn me into a robot, I know it is! And I like living, thank you very much!"

"No." He grumbled. He nudged the pod open with his blaster arm and a bit of mist slipped out from the bottom of it as it opened. There was a sudden fresh smell that came from the pod, but Claus still didn't feel safe near it.

"N-No? It looks like it will!" He whined, then he tried to tug his arm away from Masky's hold. The masked man wasn't ready to deal with that, so after the first couple of tugs he shoved the ginger haired boy. Claus collapsed into the small pod and the door was quickly shut on him. Claus let out a startled scream once he heard the door shut and he tried to turn in the confined space, but every which way he went he found himself a surrounded.

Suddenly, a burst of cold mist filled the small pod. Claus immediately thought it was some kind of anesthetic, so he held his breath and cupped his hands around his mouth. As he did so, a pair of hands reached out from within the pod. They grabbed onto his shoulders, and Claus almost screamed again, but they did something outright foreign given what was going on. They started to massage his shoulders and Claus gasped, causing him to inhale the cool mist.

Upon breathing this strange air, he felt a relaxing sensation throughout his body that began in his lungs and spread out. A soft murmur left his lips as he relaxed against the hands and let his arms drop back down to his sides, and, almost as if they knew, the hands traveled up to his neck and began to rub from the nape of his neck down to the top of his hips. It felt so good, and it was a refreshing change given the amount of times he's been beaten.

Almost as soon as the relaxation began, it ended. The hands retracted back into the padding of the pink pod and the mist disappeared, leaving Claus just standing there. The door to the pod then opened, and there stood the masked man, waiting for him to step out. Claus walked out of the pod and took a deep breath, then gave his head an experimental turn. When the pain was no where to be felt he almost cried out with glee.

"I… I feel great!" He yelled, then raised his arms in excitement. "I feel like I can take on the world!" And he actually could. The underlying sleepiness from staying up nearly 24 hours had mysteriously vanished, and he had no one to thank but the machine. He threw his arms around the pod and pressed his cheek against it's cool exterior. "I need this! I need this forever and ever and ever! Give me one!"

The masked man made a strange face before turning away, and once he turned Claus could have sworn he heard another faint chuckle. When the masked man turned back around his face was as plain as ever, but he took Claus' arm in his hand and tried to drag him back towards the stairs.

"We don't even have anywhere to be!" Claus whined. "Let me stay in it for a bit longer!" He pleaded. The masked man let go of his arm and huffed softly. He had a point, there was nothing to d-

Just then the masked man's phone began to ring from within his jacket. The masked man immediately took the phone out of his belt loop and pressed a button on it, then held the phone up to the helmet where his ear would be. He turned away from Claus to take the call, and from the other end was none other than the king.

"We need you at Osohe Castle. Now." Porky commanded. Claus flinched when he heard Porky's voice on the other side, but after that statement, everything became hushed and muddled. After a bit of silence, the masked man pulled the phone away from his head and pressed another button. He then slid it back into it's designated holster and looked back at Claus, then motioned for him to follow, to which Claus trailed after with questions leaving his mouth.

"Who was it?" He asked. The masked man pointed upwards with his blaster arm as he turned the corner and walked back towards the staircase. "Porky? What does he want?" He interrogated. The masked man shrugged, then slipped back out into the stair case. He then began to walk down the last couple of steps that led down to the lobby. Claus followed close behind, confused as all heck.

"W-We're not going to the Chimera Labs, are we?" He asked fearfully. The masked man shook his head slowly, Claus took a deep breath of relief at that. "Then… Where are we going?"

The masked man didn't know how to sign out or motion 'Osohe Castle', so he just settled for shrugging. Claus swallowed in response, not liking the fact that Masky himself didn't even know where they were going.

Both boys traveled down the stairs in a hurried manner. At the end of the stair case lied a door, and when the masked man opened it it led both boys into the lobby's hot spring. The door was located perpendicular to the hidden one that led to the elevators, which almost felt counter productive. What's the point of having an elevator next to some stairs? We all know none of the pigmasks exercise!

But that was besides the point. Both boys needed to get out of the building, and fast. The masked man broke out into a full sprint as he exited the hot springs, he then turned and ran right out the front doors with Claus hot on his heels.

"M-Masky, slow down!" Claus ordered when he saw the masked man run off. The masked man did no such thing and both boys ended up running the entire length of the street right out of the tower, until they came across the protective railing. That's when Claus began to slow down, not wanting to outright throw himself off the edge. The masked man however kept running. He ran and ran and ended up hopping up onto the railing. His wings expanded, and Claus finally got to see how they extended.

It was a strange process, one that was far too quick for Claus to truly understand, but he got the gist of it. Somehow those wings were tucked _under_ his jacket, and there was a slit in his jacket to allow for them to open up. The blasters first came out from the slit, and they were pushed forward by the expansion of the 'fingers' to the demonic looking wings. The fabric that was between each claw unfolded and stretched nicely along the gaps, decorating the wings as they were stretched taut. Claus squinted at the wings before stepping closer. The masked man turned his head slightly and glared back at him.

"...So you're going alone?" The masked man shook his head. "Then… Why aren't you grabbing me?"

"Fall." He growled out. Claus swallowed hard at the command, then watched as the masked man fell forward. The masked man left Claus alone, and Claus decided falling wasn't in his best interest.

"Heck no!" He shouted long after the masked man disappeared over the edge. He then turned around and began to walk back up the road. "As if! I'm not falling and possibly killing myself!" It was then that he realized he had no place to go. If he returned back to the tower Porky would probably torture him some more, and if he stuck around the island it'self, he would most definitely be caught and tortured anyways! He turned back towards the railing, but still didn't feel a need to jump.

"...Convince me." He said in a hushed voice, not really expecting an answer. There was a moment of silence and Claus didn't hear any jets roaring. The masked man had finally flew off, leaving him stranded on the strange and fake city. He walked back to the railing and placed both hands on it as he peered over the edge.

"Mom, if you're listening… Please help me." He looked up to the clear blue sky above himself, his eyes drooped as he prayed aloud to his mother. "I want to go home. I don't like it here… I miss Lucas and dad. Not as much as I miss you, but they're pretty up there on the missing scale." He smiled to himself, but the smile only lasted for a second as he looked back off towards the large scene before him. "I'm really tired of all of this." He admitted as he lowered his head to rest it on the railing.

Claus closed his eyes and tried to picture his home. The old home that had sheep frolicking in the back yard and the smell of cinnamon in certain spots of the house. The old home that creaked sometimes when it was night time and had to have bits repaired every couple of months. The old home that held a happy and complete family.

It was then that Claus' thinking was interrupted by a strange and peculiar sound. It sounded like faint whispering or hissing. He looked around himself and to the skies, but he couldn't find whatever was making that noise. The longer he waited, the louder the sound got, and at this point the sound transformed from hissing to high pitched screaming… Or was it whistling? He just couldn't put a name to it.

It wasn't until the sound was horribly loud that he knew just what it was. It was the roaring of jets. He turned around sharply to confirm his thoughts, but the back of his jacket was grabbed and he was hoisted up into the skies. He kicked and screamed at first, until he looked up at what was holding him. Masky. Of course.

"O-Oh." He muttered, then stopped his flailing. "It's just you… You didn't have to do that!" He screamed, his fear had morphed into anger. How dare he scare him like that!...Again!

The masked man didn't look down at Claus, nor did he react at all. He seemed to be dead set on his mission.

"Where are we going?" He finally asked after what felt like an eternity of silence. The masked man looked down at him, then took a deep breath.

"Osohe Castle!" He yelled, causing Claus to flinch and cover his ears in response.

"Sheesh, you don't have to yell! Do you seriously only have two volumes?!" He grumbled angrily. He turned his head back up and yelled right back. "How would you like it if I spoke like this 24/7?! You wouldn't like it too much, huh?!"

The masked man stared down at him and raised his blaster arm threateningly. Claus raised his hands out if instinct and whined. "Don't! Fine, I won't yell anymore! Happy?" He asked expectantly. The masked man then lowered his blaster arm and looked back out to the fields that zoomed by them both. This silence was one Claus felt was odd. He knew the masked man wasn't much of a talker, but something about this silence was wrong. There was an aura that just didn't feel natural… Oh who was he kidding, the masked man was barely even human! He has no aura or emotions or anything!

The masked man's jets soon tilted downward and both boys began to descend down towards a patchy bit of grass. There were large dirt marks along the grassy field, signifying that someone else was headed in that same direction. The masked man then tossed Claus down onto the grass before landing a little ways away from him. Claus rolled on the patch of grass and landed directly atop one of the dirt marks. He sat up from his position, gave his shoulder a few rubs, and stood up to look at the masked man. He then looked down at the marks and stomped on a couple just as the masked man approached him.

"What kind of creature made these tracks?" He asked, completely oblivious to the fact that cars were a thing. The masked man took his hand and quickly whisked him towards the pathway that led to the Osohe Castle. On the way, Claus spotted a wooden post, and then he realized just where they were.

His head turned around and he managed to catch a glimpse of the village's strange new entrance. It was exactly the way it was before he disappeared, and he immediately struggled against the masked man's hold.

"W-Wait! That's Tazmilly!" Claus shouted as he yanked the masked man about. "Let go! Let go let go let go! I'm not staying here any longer!" He screamed. The masked man growled and pulled Claus with such great force that he lost his footing and fell onto his side. Claus took this moment to try and notify the town of his presence.

"Dad! Lucas! Fuel! Somebody!" He cried out, screaming as loud as his lungs would permit. "Help me!" He screeched. The masked man released his hold on his wrist, only to bury his hand into his hair. He gripped a good chunk of hair and pulled, sending Claus onto his back. He started to haul Claus all the way towards the direction that the tracks led off to. Claus continued to scream, continued to kick, continued to cry for help, but sadly for him no help came. It was as if he was screaming into a sea of stillness. The worst part? He could have sworn he saw the familiar faces of Nana and Nichol looking at him from the stone arch way that led into town.

"Is that Claus?" Nichol softly mumbled to Nana. Nana blinked, then squinted to try and sharpen the image of Claus being hauled away.

"I-I'm not sure! I don't think so, I don't think Claus would ever wear an outfit like that!" Nana gasped.

"Who is that boy with? Why does he need help?" Nichol queried right after, and both began to hum in thought.

"Should we go tell the village?" Nana asked as she stepped away from the stone arch way.

"I don't know, do you think they'd believe us?" Nichol wasn't certain. In fact, he was ready to throw away the idea of telling anyone all together.

"I don't think so. But it's always worth telling at least someone! C'mon, let's go find Lighter!" Nana squeaked, and with that both kids disappeared from Claus' sight.

Claus felt his little heart shatter at the sight of his two friends leaving. He couldn't believe it. The one time he needs help, they abandon him! Claus looked down as his screaming softened to the point that he fell silent, and he began to recall Porky's words. Maybe he was right. Maybe everyone did hate him.

The masked man continued to drag Claus all the way to Osohe castle, where they crossed the lowered draw bridge, passed a parked pig tank, and entered the partially destroyed castle. The masked man weaved between debris and doors, making sure Claus didn't graze anything along the way. This building smelled old and ancient, but Claus didn't seem to mind. It was nice seeing the inside of this castle, it just sucked that this castle had been partially destroyed thanks to these idiotic pigmasks.

The prolonged silence between both boys prompted Claus to begin reflecting upon the past day's events, and that's when he began to think out loud.

"...But why am I here?" He mumbled to himself. The masked man stopped in his tracks and looked back at Claus. Claus blinked and stared into his lap. Masky then released his hold on his hair and pivoted on his heels, curious as to what Claus was on about. "Why… Why am I here?" Claus then turned his head slightly to look up at the masked man. He stood up and faced the masked man, where he looked closely at his face.

The masked man leaned back, the weird words that Claus was uttering were ones that confused him. It was absolute nonsense, until Claus reached out and yanked off his helmet.

It was a fast motion, which rendered the masked man unable to prevent the snatching of his helmet in time. Claus now held the heavy piece of metal within his hands, his brows furrowed as he examined the masked man's face much better this time.

"You're me… You're me, a bit scarred up, but you're me." He hissed. The masked man stared at him, his hair disheveled and his eyes darkened. His lips were curled into a frown, then he made a motion for his helmet. Claus didn't move to put it back on as he continued to think aloud.

"It was my shoe that I found back on the plateau. It was _my_ shoe, but _I_ never fought the drago… But you did." Claus took a deep breath as he continued to piece together the information he was currently cross examining. "Lucas was with me when he disappeared, but now he was at Thunder Tower, whatever that thing was. How did Lucas go from the forest to a tower with Kumatora and Duster… We didn't even talk to them by the time Lucas disappeared… Unless." Claus then looked up at the masked man. "Unless… I don't belong here."

The masked man sneered at this crazy talk and lunged for his helmet. Claus didn't put up much of a fight for it, so it was easily snatched out of his hands, but he continued to talk.

"You're me, or at least you used to be me, and I'm sort of you. Don't you think something's just weird? We look exactly the same, sort of sound the same, and we both know PK Love. Ionia said that it was only Lucas and I that knew PK Love." He leaned in close. "And… And everything's just weird. Porky mistaking me for Lucas, you being here, Lucas suddenly being with Kumatora and Duster… I don't belong here. This isn't _my_ world." Claus finally came to that conclusion. It was a fuzzy explanation, but he'd have to talk to a professional about it, not just some bland plank of wood with his face.

The masked man slid on his helmet, tucked in the bits of orange hair under it, and glared at Claus. He brushed off all of his talk and grabbed his wrist, then stormed down the designated path until they eventually walked into the open area behind the castle. Both boys suddenly stopped walking to take in the scenery.

The area around here was gorgeous, as if the vines here never grew and the grass stopped at a nice length.

"Why are we here?" Claus asked, his voice soft as if not to disturb the peace. The masked man shrugged, but pulled him further into the meadow. It was then that they spotted the large group of pigmasks huddled around something, and that something shined brightly. The masked man squinted at the pigmasks, then cleared his throat loudly. That alerted the pigmasks of his presence and they all immediately dispersed and saluted the masked man.

When they scattered, they exposed something that was outright ethereal. There was something that looked like a sword stabbed into the Earth at the center of a stone circle. It was… strange looking at this thing. The item emanated some kind of power that Claus could feel resonate throughout his body. Upon laying his eyes on the item, he shuddered outwardly and gripped his arms.

"H-Hello commander!" A blue pigmask squealed out, which got a chorus of other 'hellos' from the others. A green pigmask then turned and yelled at the blue pigs.

"Silence you idiots!" He looked back at the masked man, "We kept the needle safe for you sir, and it's ripe for pulling!" He chirped.

"Pulling?" Claus echoed, then he eyed up the needle. Without warning, the masked man released his hold on Claus' wrist and walked towards the needle. "W-Wait, Masky, what are you doing?" He followed after. The idea of the masked man pulling the needle made his gut churn in the strangest of ways, almost as if his body rejected the notion. Before he could get too close to the needle itself, a blue pigmask slipped himself between Claus and the masked man.

"Stay back, we don't want you pulling this needle!" The pigmask commanded. Claus stopped dead in his tracks and glared up at the pigmask.

"And why not?" He snarled.

"It's against Porky's request. He wanted the masked man to pull it, not you!" He jabbed his finger against Claus' chest, and that triggered a knee jerk reaction of a punch to the face. The pigmasked didn't even have time to squeal as the punch sent his mask and his world spinning. Claus then looked to the masked man whose hand now rested on the needle, and he broke out into a full sprint. Something inside of him screamed for him to stop the masked man, and he decided that he had to stop him, even if he didn't know why.

"Masky, no!" He called out, but his cry was drowned out by the various squeals of the pigmasks. He reached out, grabbed the back of the masked man's jacket, and yanked him back. Masky fell onto his butt, shock clearly on his face as he stared up at Claus. Claus didn't waste a single second. He placed both hands onto the needle and pulled with all of his might.

The ground below them both gave away and the needle floated before Claus, and then it suddenly rose and disappeared into the skies with a bright flash and a SHWING.

A tense moment of silence laid over the crowd like a heavy blanket, then suddenly steam erupted out from where the needle used to be. Claus stumbled back and tripped over the masked man, so now both boys laid on the ground as hot steam was blown into the skies. Claus took a deep breath as a nice and warm feeling overcame his heart. He felt at peace for once. But that didn't last long.

The masked man rolled onto Claus, his hand then wrapped itself around his throat and squeezed. Claus gasped for air when his windpipe was forcibly closed, and his hands wandered upward to try and unlatch the masked man's hand from his throat.

"IDIOT!" Masky screamed out, he then raised his blaster arm and gave Claus a nasty whack with it. The pigmasks all stood off to the side, frozen in horror at the scene before them. The masked man growled and snarled to portray his frustration, and he used his hold on Claus' throat to pull his head up and slam it back down onto the ground repeatedly. Claus felt his eyes and lungs both burn as he struggled to breathe.

Now that he was being fueled by fear, his hands then reached out towards the masked man's shoulders, and his legs reached up and kicked at the masked man's torso. The hit luckily connected, which caused the masked man to release his hold on Claus. Claus however continued to kick, and when he kicked for a second time a white rectangular shape fell off of the masked man. It was his phone, but the masked man didn't seem to show any concern for it.

The masked man then stood and hovered over Claus. Claus was wheezing and panting, his lungs rapidly expanding and contracting as he filled them up with air. The masked man glared hatefully down at Claus, then spat onto Claus' face. Claus brought his hands up to wipe off the spit, but Masky's hateful stare did not falter one bit. The only time it faltered was when a soft voice was heard off in the distance.

"We must hurry Lucas, we musnt let them pull the needles! You're the only hope that humanity has at this point!" It was a strange voice. A high but deep voice. Ionia's voice.

The masked man's eyes widened as he turned towards the opening in the wall, already hearing the footsteps that signified Ionia's approach. He then turned to the pigmasks and pointed off towards the opening in the wall.

"Leave!" He ordered. With that, the pigmasks all began to squeal in a frenzy as they all tried to find a way out. The masked man ducked and expanded his wings, then grabbed Claus by the back of his jacket and allowed his wings to power up. In a flash, he had Claus up in the air, and now it was time to head home. Claus let out a shout when the world was no longer under his feet, and his shout notified a certain someone.

"Claus?!" Lucas' voice rang out as he sprinted out of the opening within the wall. By then, all of the pigmasks had cleared out through various other pathways the had created in their rush to get to the needle. Ionia came shortly after Lucas, and Lucas cast his eyes upward. That's when he saw Claus with the mysterious helmet wearing boy he had seen back on the helicopter.

"Lucas!" Claus cried out, then kicked his legs to try and dislodge himself from the masked man's grip. Masky glared back at Claus, brought his blaster arm up, and swung down at the back of his head. Claus' vision swam, spotted, and soon went black as he passed out. The masked man was thoroughly pissed with Claus, and Claus would be lucky if the masked man didn't give him a concussion with that hit.

Lucas watched their shrinking forms, his eyes wide as he realized that he missed Claus again.

"Oh dear… It looks like the needle has been pulled." Ionia said, sounding quite solemn. Lucas then looked to the hole that was currently blowing steam and he spotted the white phone that once belonged to the masked man. He walked towards the phone and picked it up. Just as he held it, the phone began to ring and vibrate with a familiar tune he had heard one too many times. He looked to Ionia, and Ionia stared wistfully at the steam pumping hole.

"I think that phone call's for you, Lucas~" Ionia cooed. Lucas looked down at the phone, swallowed, then looked back at Ionia.

"We need to pull those needles." Lucas stated. "I think they're using Claus to pull the needles, they have to be! I don't want them using him anymore!" He sounded outright heart broken. "We have to save him!"

Ionia smiled and looked to Lucas, then spoke. "I think… I think I feel the essence of love resonating throughout the Earth."

Lucas gave Ionia his attention as they spoke. It was then that Lucas smiled and looked back up to the skies.

"Yeah, that's my brother. Hang in there Claus, we're coming for you." With that, Lucas looked down at the ringing phone, and pressed the button that would answer the incoming call.


	8. A Change

That final hit was the straw that broke the camel's back for Claus. No, his resolve didn't give, nor did his attitude, but his body finally caved under the pressure. Well, more so his head. After receiving blow after blow ever since yesterday morning, his head was not doing too hot, and the last hit with the blaster finally made it apparent that he was not holding up to this constant cranial abuse.

Claus, now dangling thousands of feet in the air, struggled with consciousness. His vision was blurred and the world around him spun in ways he never thought possible each time he opened his eyes. The pain that now gnawed at every corner of his mind was unbearable. It felt searing hot, like it was trying to melt the sensitive tissue. The pain began to spread throughout his skull, making it near impossible for the gingersnap to do anything regarding his head. If he attempted to look around, his eyes began to burn. If he tried to open his mouth, his jaw ached. If he even attempted to turn his head, the pain would shoot down his spine like lightning. It was pure suffering.

The masked man was unaware of the pain that Claus was going through, but he had a feeling something was horribly wrong. The boy barely made any motions to squirm, fight, or even touch him, he didn't even try to strike conversation. Of course, one would think Claus was just unconscious if he didn't move, but the masked man doubted that. The pathetic squeaks and yelps of pain each time his head moved signified he was just barely there and that he just wasn't out cold. Each sound reassured the Masked Man that Claus was still with him. Though the sounds seemed to be having a second effect on him, and he started to think.

Did he really have to hit Claus? Did he really have to yell at him? He realized he was acting a lot more like Porky and a cold shiver ran through his body at that thought. That thought was buried under layers of brainwashing and negative reinforcement which allowed him to be the cold creature he is… Was. It was then that he noticed another emotion beginning to come into play. Regret.

Masky felt all sorts of remorse at each little sound Claus made, which was like fuel to the fire of thought. What should he do now that Claus was suffering? What would Porky say about him pulling the needle? What would Porky _do_ to Claus?

As the masked man flew over the evergreen fields of one of the islands, Claus fell quiet. He had finally given up trying to stay conscious, it wasn't doing him any favors anyway. The masked man sighed softly as he carried his limp load, lost in thoughts that lacked any answers. He wondered just what he _could_ do with him. Claus was obviously in pain, but what could he, the masked man, do to relieve it? He was a killing machine, not a comfort machine.

...But that wouldn't stop him from trying to find comfort for the ginger boy.

His arms began to shift slowly, as to not shake Claus any more. He pressed his blaster against the back of his knees, pulled Claus' arm back to let it lie across his shoulders, and used his own arm to support Claus' back. Now that he had him in his arms it was much easier to monitor his head, and with that he began to plan out his movements. He couldn't jerk around as much as he'd like to, nor could he speed up or slow down at will, he had to be careful.

When he spotted New Pork City off in the distance, his wings began to move. The jets on said wings shifted upward by a few centimeters and, while the change wouldn't be obviously felt or seen, it still had an affect. By shifting the jets upward, the masked man was able to create a pushing force that lowered him and his clone ever so slightly while still maintaining his speed. It was a gradual downward slope that would deposit both boys onto one of the city's two roads safely.

When the uppermost platform began to come closer and closer into range, the masked man tilted his body accordingly. His legs leaned forward and he tilted his feet slightly just so his heels would be the first thing to come into contact with the ground. It was akin to a plane pulling out it's landing gear, that is, if the plane was partially human and walked on two legs. As he was doing this the power behind his wings began to taper off, leaving gravity to do its thing.

The masked man finally stepped foot onto the metallic road, and due to his momentum he ran forward a few paces before skidding to a complete stop. Now that his wings were powered down and Claus was still relatively safe, he tucked his wings back into his back and began walking up the pathway. He managed to save Claus from the dangers of flying, but would he be able to save Claus from the dangers of Porky?

So far, the entirety of New Pork City was still. The masked man had landed near the soon to be amusement park, and even there it was quiet. No pigmasks were working on the mediocre attractions, no pigmasks were building upon on the facades of houses… There weren't any pigmasks in sight. Not even on the other platform below.

The masked man squinted his eyes as he looked out into the empty street, and it dawned on him that they both were completely alone. He wasn't going to question the lack of pigmasks, instead he was going to get Claus medical help as soon as possible. He began to walk up the road after deciding that running would not be best for Claus' current situation. As he walked, his steps seemed to echo despite the lack of an enclosed space. There was absolutely no noise to be heard either. Not even the wind was blowing over this cold and desolate place.

Masky knew something was wrong. Porky probably received thousands upon thousands of phone calls all detailing what happened, there was no conceivable way for him _not_ to be upset. He had to have pure rage building up at this very moment, especially since the young boy literally cost him a needle. There are only seven needles, now six given that one was pulled, and the first needle was pulled by someone other than the masked man. He had to have been furious that his plan was ruined! And the masked man soon found out that Porky was indeed upset.

When the masked man stepped close to the imposing tower, the doors slid open and a handful of Porkybots all tumbled out and down the stairs. All of them were screaming all sorts of obscenities as they locked their unseen eyes onto the masked man, more specifically what he was carrying.

Each Porkybot stormed over to the masked man, hands outstretched and fingers curling to grab onto anything they could reach. Many hands latched onto the masked man's waist and pants legs, but other hands also reached for Claus. Masky hoisted Claus up and over his head just to keep him out of reach of these vicious creatures. It was a giant mistake. Since Claus was out cold, he couldn't necessarily keep his arms to his chest, so one arm swung down and the Porkybots attacked.

One of the various Porkybots grabbed onto Claus' wrist, clamped down on it, and yanked with such force that Claus was pulled from the masked man's hands. Masky let out an audible gasp, and he lunged and wrapped his arms around Claus to prevent him from falling into the grip of the Porkybots who would have certainly killed him right then and there. With an arm over his chest and another tossed around his waist, he pulled him closer and against his chest. It was quite the silly sight, but this was a serious matter. His hold could easily spell either life or death for Claus.

The Porkybots all reached and grabbed at Claus once more. Many latched their grabby hands onto his legs, others reached for his back, and some even lunged to grab at his hair. The masked man was in full panic mode, and he felt his ghost of a heart beating fast because of it. Is this what pure _fear_ was like? He didn't dawdle on the idea of him feeling emotions for too long, he had to protect his fragile haul. It was then that he realized the various holds on his legs were almost gone, spare for a few hands here and there, and that's when he devised a quick plan.

He stepped back before any of the Porkybots could really establish a good hold on Claus, pulled back a leg, and kicked at the robots with all of his might. He made sure to strike primarily with the tip of his foot, given there was more metal there to protect him and deal more damage. One by one various Porkybots began to fall over. Since they were so focused on snatching up Claus, the masked man's attack went unnoticed until it was too late. Many heads were outright kicked off, while other bots received blow after blow to their metallic guts.

The masked man began to count just how many there were. Five… Six… Seven…The numbers continued to increase as metal collided with metal, and then with concrete right after. It was around the 8th Porkybot that he switched legs, and then he could count just how many were left. Counting the 8th Porkybot, there were four robots left. And each of those bots were screaming their heads off in anger, but their AI still hadn't adapted to his attacks. It seemed that these weren't entirely controlled by Porky, but rather ordered to 'retrieve' Claus.

The last four were each finished off with a swift kick to the head, and once that was all over the masked man stepped back and studied the massacre. 11. 11 Porkybots were sacrificed in this great battle. Talk about overkill.

Luckily, everything had stilled. From what the masked man could see there were no more reinforcements on the way, so he was in the clear. He took a few experimental steps forward, paused, and looked to the door. No Porkybots. He breathed a sigh of relief and began to shift Claus around just so he was carrying him in his arms again, exactly like before.

Once Claus was situated back into his arms, he let his eyes roam along his body. While his hair was slightly disheveled, he assumed the boy was unharmed. He had to hurry up and take Claus to the nurses before another wave of those bots rained down upon them both.

The masked man continued forward, and he walked up the stairs that led into the Empire Porky Building. The sliding doors opened up with a hiss and the masked man surveyed the area from his point outside of the building. Inside it was just as still, though there was an attendant standing behind the counter. She must be new judging by the outright petrified look she had on her face. It could only be the result of that whirlwind that had torn through the lobby not too long ago.

The masked man stood in the middle of the lobby, now being studied by the silent attendant. His eyes met hers as he uttered out a request.

"Open the elevators." He grumbled in a gravely voice. The attendant swallowed, not sure what the masked man wanted.

"E-Excuse me? What?" She peeped helplessly. The masked man stomped his foot and the attendant jumped back with a startled gasp.

"Elevators!" The masked man yelled. Claus twinged at the volume and the masked man crumpled almost immediately. That shout had been loud enough to leave ones eardrums ringing. He swallowed and shuffled closer towards the attendant, his voice now down to a whisper. "Please."

The attendant didn't make a move, considering she was still getting over the sudden shock of getting yelled at by a midget. The masked man gave her desk a few kicks and the attendant snapped back into reality. She staggered out from behind the desk and scrambled towards the elevator located off to the left.

"C-Certainly sir!" She gasped out. The masked man watched as she disappeared within the next room, then he glanced at Claus. Still out cold. He let out a soft sigh as he succumbed to his dark thoughts, then shuffled slowly after the attendant. The attendant however did not help brighten his mood.

"I-I'm sorry sir, but..." She gave the elevator door's a few more pats. "The doors aren't opening!" The masked man flinched at that, and he shot her a hard glare as he stormed over with his load. He looked at the closed doors, then gave the doors a few kicks. Still nothing. He cursed under his breath and turned his back to the attendant, his mind in a frenzy of how this could have happened. Then Porky's voice filled his senses.

"Yeah, of course the doors won't open!" Porky cackled. "I know you aren't taking him straight to me, so why should I let you take him anywhere else?" He let out a snort, and that snort was shortly followed by heavy coughs and sharp wheezes. The masked man's eyes widened as he looked up to the ceiling, knowing that Porky was watching him. Just how did he _know_?

"You look so surprised!" Porky gasped, feigning false shock. "You thought I wouldn't find out about your plan?" Porky scoffed. "Well, I honestly didn't either. But the way you destroyed all of my Porkybots shows you had something else in store for Claus! And the way you're holding him screams it's not some kind of punishment!" Porky was practically rolling in his knowledge. The masked man looked down at Claus, then grit his teeth. He had to find a way to take Claus to the nurse's floor, and fast. And then it hit him. The stairs.

"Just hand him over and you won't suffer- wait… Wait where are you going?!" Porky screamed in disbelief. Was this boy seriously going against his orders?!

"Follow." The masked man ordered, then he shuffled as fast as he could all the way across the lobby and towards the hot springs opposite to the elevator room. The attendant went wide eyed as she watched him blatantly turn his back towards Porky, the king!

"Masked man, come back!" Porky's voice ordered. The masked man didn't dare look back as he continued across the lobby at a stroll. The attendant soon trailed after the masked man once her face regained it's color. Her hands were pressed to her lap as she followed close behind, her heart pounding within her ears. Oh dear, this boy was not listening.

Both parties stepped into the hot springs and the masked man quickly turned left. He walked along the grassy patch and stopped before the wall, then he turned to the attendant.

"Lamp." He hissed out. The attendant looked to the lamp he was on about, then back down to the masked man. He tried to point with the hand he had, but given it was pressed against the ginger boy's back, it was practically useless. He let out a soft grumble, cleared his throat, and looked to the lamp. "Turn it." He stated, then shuffled back to allow the attendant to approach it.

The attendant swallowed hard and reached out for the lamp. Once her fingers grazed it's warm metal and false flame, Porky spoke out again.

"Turn it and I will have you slaughtered in front of your family!" Porky screamed at the top of his old lungs. The attendant stopped and pulled her hand back from the lamp out of fear, but the masked man insisted. He let out a half-hearted sigh and stepped closer.

"Please." He whined out, his voice straining to convey emotion, "Turn it."

She looked down at both the masked man and Claus, her brows furrowed in thought. She then looked back to the lamp and stared at it for what felt like an eternity. Then she lunged, grabbed the lamp, and turned it.

"You **bitch**!" Porky howled through the speakers. The attendant pushed the secret door open, which led straight into the staircase both boys walked down just hours before. She motioned for the masked man to come through with her other hand.

"Hurry, _please_." She pleaded. The masked man didn't waste any time running in, and soon the door was slammed shut behind him. The masked man continued forward and stood in the middle of the spiral staircase. He stared up the spiral and squinted. He could have sworn he heard metal rapping from just a few floors up… And then he heard the vague angry and shrill cusses. Reinforcements were coming.

Masky swallowed hard and sprinted for the stairs. He began to run up, clearing steps two at a time. His breathing became labored as he pulled Claus closer towards his chest, but he was more than grateful when he spotted the second floor's door in his sights. He tried to jump up and clear the last couple of steps, but the tip of his boot knicked the edge of the final step. He staggered forward and nearly slammed into the door, but he caught himself just in time. The top of his helmet bumped gingerly against the door, and a heavy sigh of relief came from himself.

He leaned back and looked down at Claus. Still no signs of him waking up. The sound of metal on metal felt closer and the curses he heard were louder. They were drawing near, so he couldn't bask in the glory of his handiwork for long. He brought his leg back yet again and kicked at the door, trying to alert the nurses within that floor to his presence.

When no nurse came to his aid, he turned and laid his back against the wall.

"Open the door!" He screamed, and he watched as Claus flinched once more at his booming voice. He sighed and pressed the back of his head against the wall. He looked back up the center of the spiral staircase, and his robotic heart nearly flat-lined. He could see glimpses of yellow hair between the bars. They were much closer than he thought.

He began to slam the door with his heel, his eyes wide with fear. _Fear_. Oh how he did not like how fear felt.

It was then that he watched a spherical orb scale down the stairs of the fifth floor. Then the fourth floor. And he last saw them on the third floor. They were coming for the second floor, where he was located. He then slammed his heel against the door one last time, then the door gave away under his foot.

"Masky, what are you doing?!" A shrill voice cried out. The masked man had never been more grateful to hear that voice. He nudged himself away from the wall and ran straight into the doorway. He nearly knocked over the nurse in question with his speed. He turned around sharply and looked to the door. There they were. More Porkybots.

"Close it!" He commanded. The nurse did just that. Just as she slammed it shut, a rain of fists hammered against it, filling the air with the loud noise. "Lock it!" He added shortly after, and she did so without another second to waste. Masky drew a breath and looked down at Claus just to look him over one more time. Still nothing, but at least he wasn't harmed.

"Masky, what's the big idea?" The pigmask questioned as she placed her hands onto her hips. The masked man shot a solemn look at her, and her eyes darted down to Claus. She stared for a bit before walking past the masked man and further down the hall. "Alright, follow me." She sounded quite stern as she led the masked man into an unoccupied room. She held the door wide open for him, and he stepped into the room.

Once he laid his eyes on the bed, he walked towards it and laid Claus down on it. He slipped his arm and blaster out from under Claus and stepped back to examine him. He looked so peaceful like that. The white pigmask then walked and stood on the opposite side of Claus. She then reached down and into her waist and pulled out a small flashlight from an unseen belt. She clicked the light and leaned in close, her other hand then wandered over towards Claus' left eye. She held the two lids apart with her index and thumb, then shined the bright light into his eye. The pupil dilated in response, and Claus' head jerked back. The pigmask jumped back at that, and then a low and pathetic groan was heard from Claus.

"No… No please." He gurgled out as he moved away from the pigmask's touch. His eyes cracked open enough for him to look at the pigmask. Despite his time out cold, his vision had not improved at all. "I-I want to live." He wheezed out, his hands weakly reaching out to grab one of the pigmask's, specifically the one with the flashlight. The nurse turned her head to the masked man, who remained silent during most of this. She then turned back and exhaled.

"Don't worry, you're not going to be cut into." She mumbled as she reached closer and gripped onto his chin with her other hand. The hand that was grabbing onto her wrist soon reached for the one that attached itself to his person. "Just let me look at your eyes."

"W-Why?" Claus moaned, though his grip softened and his head stilled. She removed her hand from his chin and held open the other eye. The pupil looked to be normal, and when she showed the light between both eyes, both pupils were the same size. So there was no major brain damage to be seen. The nurse clicked the light back off and pulled away from Claus.

"So I can get you some medicine. I take it a certain someone couldn't keep his hands to himself?" She said, then shot a look at that 'certain someone'. The masked man turned away and looked down at the floor. She breathed out through her nose and looked back down at Claus. Claus had managed to get a hand behind his head to rub where he was hit.

"Yeah, he hit me really hard too!" Claus groaned as his fingers grazed over the well formed knot. The nurse reached out to rub his shoulder, but Claus flinched and leaned away from the touch as best as he could. "Don't touch me." He growled lowly, but flinched when a strong ache twinged through his head.

"Do you want medicine or not?" The pigmask inquired actively as she began to walk towards the foot of the bed. "It'll help with your headache." She added. Claus laid his head back against the stiff pillow behind his head and let out a pathetic whimper. He didn't know if he should say yes or no. For all he knew, it could've been just a devious ploy to get him to drop his defenses.

When Claus wasn't speaking, the masked man spoke up instead.

"Yes." He said sternly, answering for Claus. Claus shot a very startled look at the masked man who didn't even dare to make eye contact with him.

"Alrighty then, I'll go get you some medicine." The pigmask sung as she walked towards the door.

"W-Wait! I didn't want a-any-" Claus was cut short by the slamming of the door behind her. Claus' mouth hung open at what just happened, then it closed into a frown. He laid back against the bed and took a deep breath. His vision was starting to clear up, though the pain in his skull still ate at the ends of his nerves. He looked up to the plain ceiling, now contemplating what to do if medicine was offered. Maybe he would use some force and slap the medicine out of the nurses hands… But what if it came in a syringe? Would he just have to risk getting stabbed with it? It'd probably be a 50/50 chance of getting stabbed, so maybe he'd just get lucky and…

The sound of footsteps within the room interrupted Claus' peaceful thought. Claus looked up from his position and let his tired eyes look about the room. His eyes landed on the masked man's form pressed against the furthest wall. He grimaced when he saw that familiar figure and his head flopped back down onto the pillow. He winced when he put too much force behind his huffy flop. It made the bump flair with pain from the pressure. The masked man looked at the angered young boy, waiting for his response.

"I can't believe you." Claus grumbled softly under his breath. His arms then crossed themselves over his chest. "I help you tie your shoes and _this_ is how you repay me?!" Claus turned his head and eyed the masked man. "By whacking me upside the head with your stupid robot arm?!" The masked man withered under his words, but he raised the cannon arm. This wasn't a robot arm and the look he gave him conveyed that thought, but Claus continued. "All because I pulled the needle?!" He snapped.

The masked man lowered his arm and leaned back against the wall. He mimicked Claus' pose and crossed his arms as well. "What difference would it have made if you pulled it anyways?!" Claus growled. "We're literally the same person, so why would it matter?!" He laid back again for the third time and huffed. There was a tense moment of silence between both boys, Claus was even ready to let the topic go, that is until he thought harder about the masked man.

"But you're still different." He mumbled, and his head turned upwards again to look at the masked man. Masky stared back at him and his hand reached up to scratch at the bit of skin just a bit before the blaster arm. Claus furrowed his brows as he stared. "...Maybe you're just-"

The doors swung open, interrupting Claus again. It was none other than the same damn nurse. Though, it seems like she followed through with the earlier medicine talk. In her hand was a small translucent cup; in that cup was a set of about three pills, each coated with a strange bright green color. The pills rattled within the cup as she eased closer towards Claus.

"Here are your meds, down them as fast as you can, don't even think about the taste." She said hastily. Claus eyed the cup, but the closer she got the tighter his lips were, and the bigger his frown got. "What? What is it?" She asked as she came up beside him. She stood there, waiting for an answer. When she got no answer, she shifted her weight onto another leg and tsk'd softly. "You know, you won't get better if you don't take your medicine." She stated, sounding quite motherly despite her uniform.

"Where's the water?" Claus ventured to query after tossing a hand over his mouth.

"Water?" She questioned right back. "What do you mean water?"

"You're supposed to always take pills with water! Or juice! N-Never alone!" Claus whined. The nurse then looked down at the cup, then right at the masked man that had shuffled closer while they had their little conversation.

"Oh, right. You're not Masky." She said blandly. She then set the pills down on the makeshift nightstand beside Claus' bed and waddled back towards the door. "I'll go get you your water then." It was such a bitter sounding statement, but at least she left! Though, after the pigmask shut the door, the masked man took her place besides Claus. He grabbed onto the small cup of pills and raised it up to his nose, where Claus heard him sniff.

Claus side eyed the masked man's sniffing endeavor, curious as to why he was doing that. The masked man then set the cup back down on the nightstand and stalked all the way back to his post against the wall. Claus looked back down at the cup, then took it within his hands to make sure the masked man didn't just spit in it. When there was no bubbly saliva hacked into the cup, he set it back down and eased himself up into a sitting position.

"Did you just check my meds?" Claus asked, sounding quite surprised. The masked man didn't respond and instead just went back to scratching. "Why?" Claus inquired as he looked directly at Masky. For once the robot boy refused to make eye contact with him, and instead he scratched at his arm harder. He then ventured to speak.

"I'm sorry." The masked man murmured, then turned his head to look at the ground. Claus was taken aback by the apology. He seriously _apologized_? **The** commander? The dude that was as heartless as they came? Well, now that he apologized, Claus started to think. Then it dawned on him. Was the masked man really _that_ heartless? Claus sat up and stared at the masked man, at a loss for words at his apology. Though, that itching was starting to get on his nerves.

"Stop that." He stated, but his words lacked any commanding tone. The masked man's scratching slowed to a halt. Claus' brows rose at that. The masked man was _listening_ to him. Oh how he couldn't wait until he could rub it in Doctor Andonut's face.

Before Claus could really take advantage of this situation, the door opened. The nurse currently tending to him walked in, a cup of bubbly water within her hands.

"Here's your water. Take all of the pills. Doesn't matter if you take em all at the same time or one by one, just take them all. Don't waste time." The nurse ordered as she placed the larger cup down onto the nightstand. She then turned on her heels and waddled back out the door.

After the nurse left, Claus took the cup within his hand and looked at it. He swirled the bubbly water around, almost mesmerized by the spinning bubbles.

"So, what do the pills do?" Claus asked as he redirected his eyes from the cup to look at the masked man. The masked man's head tilted up at the direct question, but still no words left his mouth. Claus ventured to take a sip of the bubble filled water, but the minute he raised the cup to his lips, the masked man stepped forward. Claus cocked a brow at him and held the cup within his hand.

"...You wanna sniff this too?" Claus teased, then extended his arm out towards the masked man. The masked man just stared at the cup, not moving a single inch. Claus lowered his arm slowly at that, a bit discouraged by his sudden coldness. It was when Claus set the cup down onto the nightstand that the masked man lurched forward. He walked over to Claus' bedside once again, then took the cup within his hand and rose it to his nose. There wasn't an audible sniff this time, but it was still obvious he was smelling it. After a bit, the masked man set the cup down and nodded to Claus.

"So it's okay to drink?" Claus mumbled. The masked man nodded again. He then took the cups, one in each hand, and looked them over one last time. It was then that he noticed his hand was still working despite the mark. How strange. But, nonetheless, he had to take his medicine. Three pills shouldn't be too tough to swallow, besides, his head was _killing_ him. Wait…

"You didn't answer me the first time." Claus muttered as he looked at the masked man. "What do these pills do?" He gave the cup a shake, rattling the pills inside. The masked man finally answered him, but not with words. He brought his blaster arm up to his head and lightly tapped it's barrel against his helmet.

"What?" Claus squinted in confusion. The masked man huffed softly at that, and he used his hand to quickly tap against Claus' temple. Claus recoiled at that, but he got the idea soon enough. "Alright alright, sheesh!" Claus exclaimed. After the masked man pulled his hand away, he tipped the cup of pills into his mouth, then chased them down with the bubbling water. It felt weird gulping down three pills at one time, but if the masked man was right, he'd be benefiting from it. Maybe then his head would stop pounding as if it were some kind of drum.

Once the pills had settled nicely within Claus' gut, he set both cups onto the nightstand and laid back. He took a deep breath and nestled into the stiff sheets of this strange bed. It wasn't comfortable and it quite frankly smelled musty, but Claus felt a sort of homeliness to it. He couldn't quite explain it, but for once he felt relaxed. Claus then looked up at the masked man that still stood beside him.

"...Why?" He knitted his brows, his head throbbing at the slight movement. The masked man glanced at him for a moment before looking away, though Claus continued. "Why did you bring me here? Why didn't you just take me to Porky?"

He got a reply, but it didn't answer any of his questions. "Rest." The masked man rasped.

Claus huffed softly and closed his eyes, doing as the masked man commanded. After a few moments of having his eyes closed, he began to hear footsteps, followed by the sound of the door opening then closing. When Claus opened his eyes and looked around, the room was dim and the masked man was gone. A sharp breath left his nose as he relished the fact that he was left alone. He nestled down further into the mattress and turned onto his side, then he used one of his arms as a cushion for his head.

Now came another question: why did he have to take pills for a headache? What exactly did he hav- There came one of the stronger twinges. The muscles in his face all ached and his head throbbed with the pain he felt earlier, back when he was semi-conscious. He groaned, then tossed his other arm over his eyes, covering them from the small amount of light that illuminated the room. Now he realized just what he had. A full blown concussion. Well, it was inevitable, considering the metal boy wouldn't stop aiming for his head. Though, Claus still didn't expect himself to have finally gotten a concussion. He thought he was a lot stronger than that.

Now Claus laid there, resting his aching head and weakened body, waiting for the medicine to kick in. Yet, Claus wasn't going to be able to rest. Just a bit outside the door he could hear cussing and cursing. He couldn't quite pin just what was cursing, but the chatter he heard outside sounded vaguely like Porky. He grimaced at the idea that Porky had come down to visit him, and he pulled his arm away from his eyes to stare at the door.

When Claus heard a chorus of crashes, cannon shots, and shrill screams, he eased up onto his butt and continued to look at the door. What the heck was going on out there?

The sounds of outright chaos lasted for only a few moments, then everything went deathly still. There was nothing to be heard. No chatter. No footsteps. Nothing.

Claus began moving towards the edge of the bed, intending to hop off and go to investigate. The door knob began to slowly turn, and Claus froze in place. It squeaked with every single movement, then the door began to creak open. Claus tensed and clenched his fists, ready to fight whatever dared to enter.

From the slight sliver of opening, Claus saw a wrinkly old face, and his heart soared.

"Doctor Andonuts!" He called out with a wide smile. Doctor Andonuts chuckled lowly as he opened the door and slid in.

"Oh, you're awake. I thought the nurse told you to rest." He silently shut the door behind himself and looked at Claus as he spoke.

"No, she didn't. She just gave me some pills and left. Masky though, he told me to rest."

"Did he? Huh, well," Doctor Andonuts walked further into the room, that is, after turning the lights on, "I wouldn't put it past him at this point. He did bring you here after all."

"What?" Claus' eyes widened in astonishment.

"Yup, I saw it with my own two eyes." He chuckled as he tapped the side of his glasses. "Oh boy, the amount of Porkybots chasing you two though."

"P-Porkybots?… There's more than one?"

"One? Oh, you've had your run in with one already?" Andonuts' brows rose at that. "I-It didn't hurt you, did it?"

"Well, yeah." Claus spat bitterly. "It threw me down a flight of stairs!" Well, more so rolled, but still! Doctor Andonuts glanced at the door then back at Claus.

"You should be grateful. Those things are vicious little monsters." He hissed.

Claus shook slightly at that. Oh goodness, how he was grateful the masked man was faster than them. Both then shared a moment of silence as Claus struggled to piece together what could have happened while he was out cold.

"I heard you pulled the needle." Doctor Andonuts spoke, interrupting Claus' thought. Claus looked shamefully down into his lap.

"Y-Yeah. I did." Claus' voice was much lower, as if he was trying to hide from his crimes.

"Porky's upset." Doctor Andonuts added. Claus broke his gaze and stared down at the bed. Oh how he felt so _guilty_.

"I know. I don't understand why he's mad though!" He huffed, suddenly gaining a burst of anger. He rolled his shoulders back and puffed out his chest. "The masked man and I are the same person! Why would it matter if he pulled it? Wouldn't it just have the same affect?"

"I'm not sure, Porky has made sure to bar me off from knowing about his plans." Doctor Andonuts said as he sat down at the foot of the bed. "Though, there has to be something special about the masked man that only _he_ gets to pull the needles."

"I bet you it's because he's part robot." Claus grumbled in childish jealousy. He crossed his arms over his chest and flopped back into bed. Doctor Andonuts chuckled lowly and shook his head. "You'd think that he thinks robots are better than people! Masky is allowed to do so much more than me, it's not fair!"

There was a moment of silence, and Claus soon sat back up with giggles leaving his lips.

"Maybe that's why he has so many Porkybots! Just so he can look at himself as a robot!" Claus joked. That roused yet another chuckle from Doctor Andonuts. This boy was just so innocent. It was such a shame that he was roped into this mess.

"How's your head?" Andonuts asked, putting an end to the robot conversation to focus more on Claus. Claus placed a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes.

"I-It doesn't hurt as much. I think the medicine the nurse gave me helped. But it still sort of hurts." He admitted. Doctor Andonuts nodded and started to stand.

"Well, let me turn off the lights and let you rest."

"N-No, wait!" Claus reached out to grab Doctor Andonuts' sleeve. "I-I need to talk to you about something!" He sounded so desperate, so Andonuts simply sat back down.

"Well, what is this 'something'?"

"I-It's an idea I have about me being here." Claus began. "I-I don't belong here, I just know it!"

Before Andonuts could really question Claus on what he meant, the door suddenly swung open. Both parties quickly looked to the door, and in the door way stood the masked man. Doctor Andonuts lowered his eyelids and sighed.

"Well, speak of the devil. You're about ten minutes late." Doctor Andonuts mocked. The masked man only glared at Doctor Andonuts as he entered the room. He shut the door behind him with his foot, seeing that his hand was full. Wait- It was full!

The masked man was currently holding a tea kettle, which had a small rag draped over the top of it. Out of it's spout came a bit of steam here and there, proving that it's contents were still warm.

"Tea?" Andonuts gasped out. "The masked boy brings tea?" The masked man sneered at Andonuts and made sure to keep the kettle as far away from him as possible when he approached Claus. He made it quite clear that the tea wasn't for Doctor Andonuts, but rather his clone. Claus stared wide eyed at the masked man, not having expected him to have brought him something, let alone tea.

The masked man set the kettle down onto the nightstand beside Claus, making sure not to crush the other plastic cups settled there. He then pulled the rag off the top, set it aside, then grasped onto the larger plastic cup. He handed Claus the cup, who took the cup, but he was practically frozen in shock. Why was he being so _nice_?

The masked man then took the kettle by it's handle, supported the bottom of it with the end of his blaster, and cautiously tipped it's contents into the cup. The liquid was clear, but it was incredibly warm, and Claus could feel it through the cup. After the masked man stopped pouring and set the kettle back down, Claus peered into it. Nothing about it seemed off, nor did it smell off. In fact, it didn't really have a smell.

"W-What kind of tea is this?" Claus asked, looking to the masked man for answers. The masked man just shrugged. "It won't hurt me, will it?" Claus looked back down into the tea. He caught the masked man shaking his head out of the corner of his eye, and he took the plunge. He pressed the cup against his lips and tilted it, pouring the liquid into his mouth and down his throat.

Not only did it not smell, but it didn't taste like anything either. In fact, it tasted like warm water. Claus grimaced at first, but the second the liquid hit his stomach, he felt so much better. The faint echo of pain within his skull outright faded away, and it was replaced with a nice and warm feeling. Claus felt relieved, relaxed, and pleased. He smiled to himself and looked down at the empty cup, then looked at the masked man.

"What was in that tea? I-I feel amazing!" Claus let out a soft yet happy sigh. "It works a lot better than those stupid pills, give me the herbs!" Claus outright demanded. The masked man shook his head and plucked the cup from Claus' hands. He huffed at the masked man and eyed up the kettle. "But there's so much tea left!" It was then that the masked man removed the lid, then took the rag within his hand.

"W-Wait, why are you..." When the masked man dipped the rag into the 'tea', Claus had a disgusting realization. "...That wasn't tea, was it." Claus hissed out. The masked man pushed the rag into the kettle, then looked at Claus. "Was that… Hot spring water?"

The masked man nodded.

Claus gagged immediately. "Dude, people bathe in that!" He cried out. The masked man didn't even react. Claus felt outright disgusted, only goodness knows _what_ has been bathing in that water! Doctor Andonuts on the other hand was taking great joy at that, as shown by his hearty laughter. Claus turned to look at Andonuts, and he huffed out a very angry "Don't laugh!"

Their happy time was cut short by an obnoxious voice over the system.

"Clausy boy~ Would you please report to the 100th floor~" It was Porky, and he sounded… Off. "And no, masked man. I only want the boy with **two** hands this time." The speaker then clicked off, leaving Claus confused. Something about his voice just didn't seem right. He wasn't angry, nor was he being awfully cruel. His voice was almost sickeningly sweet. Claus leaned back, face paling with worry.

"I...I don't want to go." Claus muttered. Doctor Andonuts frowned, knowing that it was inevitable. There was another moment of silence, and then the masked man motioned for Claus to stay.

He pointed at Claus, then pointed at the bed. He then pointed at Doctor Andonuts, then to the kettle, leaving him in charge of the warm water. With that, he stood and walked towards the door, leaving them both shocked.

"W-Wait, masked man, what are you doing?" Andonuts spoke out. The masked man turned slightly to side eye Andonuts. He didn't respond, then opened the door and left, leaving the two alone.

They both looked at each other, eyes wide and expressions shocked. What was the masked man _doing_?

Despite Claus being shocked and slightly concerned for the masked man, he continued on his original topic.

"S-So… About my idea." He hissed out. Doctor Andonuts could only stare at the young boy.

When the masked man exited the room, he was met with a white pigmask that stepped back due to his sudden presence.

"O-Oh! Masky! There you are! Porky called for your friend, he knows, correct?" She asked. The masked man nodded, then walked past her. She stood there, not sure if she should enter the room or not. "I-Is he going with you?" The masked man then nodded again, knowing the pigmask was watching him closely. At the nod, she turned away from the room, and instead pursued the masked man.

"How is he doing?" She asked, dipping and weaving past other nurses that uttered soft 'hello's to the masked man. The masked man held up a thumbs up, and the nurse sighed in relief. "Okay, good. Don't tell him, but those meds were expired." She chuckled softly to herself. The masked man suddenly stopped and turned to glare at the pigmask. She stopped and looked at Masky, a bit startled at his unexpected reaction.

"...O-Oh. I'm sorry. The meds won't hurt him though, the effects are just muted." She added. The masked man narrowed his eyes at her, then continued on his journey. She trailed after, almost concerned with the fact that she possibly upset this small nugget of a commander.

The commander slipped between a few more women before he made his rounds around the lobby's counter. That's when the nurse found out where he was headed.

"Are you going up to see King Porky?" She queried, to which the masked man nodded. She began to back off when he approached the elevator, knowing she couldn't leave the floor. The nurse straightened herself up and picked a bit of lint off of her suit as the masked man pressed a hand to the elevator's doors. When the doors opened, she spoke.

"Could you please ask him for a fresh shipment of medicine?" She sounded very perturbed, "A lot of our medicine now is expired. We don't want to start making our own patients ill after all."

The masked man absentmindedly nodded at the request, then stepped into the elevator. He didn't turn around after entering to avoid looking at the overly affectionate nurse. The soft hiss of the elevator doors closing notified him of the doors, then he turned. He eyed up the panel, searched for the 100th floor, and jumped up slightly to press it.

The elevator roared to life, and the masked man leaned back against one of the safety railings of the elevator as it ascended. He drew a few breaths, trying to think of what he could say to Porky that would leave Claus alone. Should he apologize for Claus? Knowingly accept that Claus made a mistake? Take the fault for Claus?...That's it.

The masked man leaned back and hooked his fingers under the widows peak of his helmet, then pulled it off of his head. He held the helmet within his hand as he looked it over, silently devising a plan. He didn't want Porky to harm his doppelganger, so he took it upon himself to try and stop his attacks. If the chatter he heard from the nurses was true, he and Claus looked the same.

He proceeded to look over the helmet one more time, looking for one thing in particular. The thing that would ruin his plan. Then he spotted it. That devilish camera that kept track of what the masked man saw. He gripped the helmet by it's peak tightly, brought back his blaster, then whacked the camera with the barrel at full force. The metal around the camera warped slightly, and a few sparks came from the now broken camera. The masked man didn't stop there.

He set the helmet down, collapsed onto his knees, and held the side of the helmet with his hand. He continued to beat the camera, making sure it's feed was truly dead. Once the sparks stopped flying and the camera's lens was more than shattered, he sat back and breathed deeply. Now came the other thing that separated Claus from him. The blaster.

The once masked man looked to his blaster arm. He used his hand to grab onto the barrel, then he began to twist. He twisted one way and found that it wouldn't budge, then he began to twist the other way. This thing came off, and he knew it did, he owned the damn thing! Besides, the amount of times 'maintenance' was performed on him during his earlier stages was enough for him to commit his whole body to memory. The blaster gave under the turn and it began to loosen. Twist after twist, the blaster unscrewed itself from the masked man's arm, and soon it popped off the stump of an arm. The masked man set the blaster down beside the helmet, then looked at the end of his stump.

The robotic remainder of his arm looked like a maze of ports and cables. It was astonishing really, as every bit had a hole to which the blaster would provide a filler for, and vice versa. This little stump was capable of many things, mostly things that would benefit the masked man. It allowed for different types of attachments, whether it be new limbs or even machines. Though, Porky would never give him anything other than a blaster. That he knew deep down within his cold heart.

The masked man redirected his gaze from his stump to the changing red numbers, then saw that it was already in the 70's. Those numbers were climbing awfully quick.

He used the safety railing to pull himself back onto his feet, and the minute he stood he felt about 50 pounds lighter. The lack of a helmet doubled with the missing blaster left him a bit off balance. He teetered a bit and gave his pathetic stump a quick stretch, trying to get used to this feeling before the elevator hit the 100th floor. He cleared his throat and gave his voice a few tests.

"I am Cl-Claus." He rasped out. Nope, that didn't sound anything like Claus. He wrinkled his nose and cleared his throat again, hacking up a storm as he did so. He then tried again.

"I am Claus." He stated, sounding a bit clearer. He could hear hints of Claus within his own voice, and he knew he was close. With one last throat clear, he spoke.

"I am Claus." He sounded just like Claus, if a bit softer than the fiery boy. Finally. The masked man held a hand to his throat and continued to clear his throat, just so he wouldn't lose that voice so quickly. After making sure his voice was in check, he took to tending to his hair. He couldn't quite recall nor understand how that boy's swirl worked, but he tried his hardest to replicate it. He stuck his fingers into his hair and began to style, pushing it this way and that and nudging it upwards until he got some kind of swirl. It was silly, he looked as if he had gotten with a particularly bad fight with a hairbrush, but it would do. To be fair he also didn't have a mirror, so he just went by touch.

He then looked up at the bright red numbers to see just where he was at. 94. He nudged the two hunks of metal towards one of the corners of the lift, then stood before the elevator doors. He hid his stump behind his back, pressed his other arm against his side, and rolled back his shoulders. He was ready to face Porky.

The elevator finally dinged, signifying it had reached it's destination. The masked man took a deep breath and held it, waiting for the doors to come open. Once the doors slid open, he released his trapped breath and looked out into the room before him. The room was dark, spare for one single spotlight shining down on a very sinister looking Porky. He laid back in his bed, his smile wide and ominous. The shadows cast by every single wrinkle turned his face into a terrifying mess. There was nothing but silence, until Porky spoke.

"Claus, my sweet sweet son!" Porky sung. Masky stared at him and took his first official step as 'Claus', to which he stumbled and nearly collapsed. The lack of a helmet and blaster affected him more than he thought. Porky luckily didn't notice that obvious slip up. Or rather, he chose not to notice it. Masky then wobbled further into the room and stopped a few paces before Porky. Ah shoot, Claus wouldn't react kindly to the 'sweet son' comment, he had to think of something fast. He cleared his throat.

"Not son." He hissed. He had lost the voice he worked so hard to use, and it showed. Porky didn't care.

"Of course you're my son, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is your actions!" Porky suddenly chirped, sounding quite cheery despite the prior events. The limbs of the spider-like bed began to clatter against the floor as it eased closer towards Masky. Masky could only stare. Despite his best attempts, he was still acting like himself, rather than like Claus.

"You pulled the needle, remember?" Porky almost sung. Masky nodded, owning up to his clone's actions. Porky leaned closer towards Masky in his bed, hands gripping into the side of his bed. "You know you're not allowed to pull the needles, right?" Porky purred. The masked man then shook his head, trying to play off pure innocence. Porky broke out into hearty laughter at that.

"Ooooh Clausy boy. You truly don't know what's going on here, do you?" Porky tsked. The masked man shook his head, answering that rhetorical question. Porky eased back into bed and clasped his hands over his chest. "Honestly, it doesn't matter who pulls the needles, as long as they get pulled. There's legend that if those needles are pulled, the world gets destroyed!" Porky fell into another fit of laughter that ended with harsh coughing. "A big ol' dragon bursts out of the ground and destroys everything!"

A _dragon_?

"So, if those needles are pulled, that might happen. Oooor I get to use the world as my own little sandbox since it's been destroyed! I don't care which happens, but I'm happy with both!" He tapped his fingers together and chuckled. "But, since I don't like you, I don't want you pulling the needles. Understood?"

The masked m… 'Claus' nodded slowly, understanding what Porky was saying. Porky snickered and eased closer again.

"Well, come here. I'm not letting you off with just a lecture! That'd be too nice of me!" He made a motion for 'Claus' to step closer, and he did. He inched closer, now shuffling just so both feet stay on the ground. Once close enough, Porky wrapped his cold digits around the front of his jacket and yanked him closer. "This should teach you not to disobey me." Porky suddenly growled.

He reeled a fist back and swung. The hit connected with the masked man's now exposed cheek, the force behind that punch jerked his head to the side. He gasped and used his only hand to grab at the hold that Porky had on his shirt, but it was just that, a grab. He didn't make a move to pry Porky off or pull away, he stood there and took his punishment.

Porky chuckled darkly and swung again, striking the masked man's jaw this time. The second swing left Porky winded, and he surveyed the damage he had done. The two spots that earned the harsh punches began to flare up with a bright red color. Porky smiled to himself, coughed a bit, then pushed the masked man away, sending him tumbling to the floor. The masked man laid on the floor, his chest rising and falling as the red hot pain began to spread throughout his face. He brought his only hand up to hold his cheek as he looked up at Porky.

"I gave you some nice shiners, so I hope you're happy." He let out a deep rumbling laugh, then leaned back into his crib. "I'm still not done, so stay." He purred. The masked man eased up into a sitting position, still stroking his cheek. He stared at Porky, waiting for his next move. Yet, Porky didn't move. He laid there in bed, large grin on his face. He didn't motion for him to come close, nor did he come forward to continue striking. He was just waiting.

The masked man lowered his hand from his cheek as he looked up in confusion at Porky. That was when the second robot struck.

Masky didn't see this little bot sneaking up on him until it was too late. The bot swung a clenched fist at the side of Masky's face, aiming for that bionic eye that was situated comfortably within the masked man's skull. The punch hit it's mark, and a disgusting and sharp crack was heard from the eye. Masky was sent sprawling onto his side at the punch, and his eyes were closed as pain overcame the rest of his face. When he opened his eyes, he saw that his vision was halved.

The optic was broken now, and he could feel a strong warmth building up behind said optic. He immediately closed the useless eye and tried to get a good look at the perpetrator. From the edge of his limited vision he could see a round form. A Porkybot.

"Jeeze Claus, I didn't think you were such a cripple!" It laughed maniacally, reaching out to grab onto the masked man's only hand to throw him onto his other side. He then grabbed onto the stump, knowing that the masked man could barely fight when his more vital bits were gone. "Look at this little stub! It's so pathetic! You can't even do anything with it!" The Porkybot teased. The masked man tried to turn back onto his other side, but each attempt was met with a tightening of the Porkybot's grip.

The area that the Porkybot was grabbing was sensitive, and it was the spot just after the robotic attachment. This spot was usually protected by the blaster's attachment, where it created a sort of barrier that protected that spot from any kinds of impacts. The masked man flinched and gasped each time the Porkybot squeezed this bit, and the Porkybot cackled at poor Masky.

"Look at you! So pathetic! You know, it's really weird that you wear your jacket like that!" The Porkybot's fingers quickly dug into the rolled up jacket sleeve and proceeded to uncurl it from around his stub. After pulling it to it's full length, he went to work tying a knot with the sleeve. Over and under and with a few tugs, a knot was tied. This knot now prevented the masked man from properly connecting his blaster back onto his arm.

"There, that's better, and more fitting for a cripple like yourself!" The Porkybot then jabbed at the masked man's face, roughly poking at his remaining eye. The masked man shut that eye and let out a sharp breath, his form of a "scream". The Porkybot continued to tease the masked man. Now that he temporarily blinded the masked man, he went to work.

He waddled on over towards the masked man's prone body and reeled back a foot. He then proceeded to stomp and kick at every bit of torso he could reach, outright littering poor Masky with the hits. The masked man threw an arm over his stomach and began to curl in on himself, trying to stop the Porkybot from inflicting anymore damage. Too bad for him.

The Porkybot walked right back around to his back. That's when he raised his foot and stomped down directly on top of the slit in which the wings sprung out. The masked man let out a gurgling cry mixed with a bit of pathetic wheezing. Now that was closer to a scream.

"Roll back over you disgusting swine! Let me at your chest!" When the Porkybot saw the masked man shaking his head, he dug his heel into the spot he had kicked and began to grind it into the tender spot. The masked man let out a high pitched screech as he scooted away and rolled back over onto his back. The Porkybot snickered darkly as he walked and loomed over the visibly exhausted masked man. The marks on his face had begun to change into a darker shade of red. It looked absolutely gorgeous on the robotic boy's face.

The Porkybot then eased closer, raised a foot, and began to stomp directly onto the masked man's chest. The first hit struck his ribs and pushed all of the air out of his lungs, leaving him gasping. The second hit struck his sternum, causing an aggressive ache that rippled throughout his chest. The third hit struck his chest again, but this time it stuck where the masked man's heart was. That hit stopped his heart all together.

The artificial heart stopped beating, which throttled the masked man into a dark void. Masky sat in that void for goodness knows how long, and his body struggling to cope. It did the only thing it could do: Restart.

While the masked man couldn't see it, his body began to work into rebooting this poor beaten system. Lines of codes were fed into prompters, which were then carried out as commands. Different little sparks began to click within the masked man, and Masky was soon pulled out of the depth of a darkened hell. Though, not without a catch.

Shortly after the masked man came to, his psyche was attacked with several different emotions at once. He could feel disgust, anger, love, happiness, pain, fear, and most prominently sadness, all at once. His eye twitched about as his chest heaved, his lungs struggling to keep the masked man full of air as he practically seized.

This fit started to die down as the masked man began to further process on his emotions, and he settled onto one for the time being. Sadness.

His only eye became lined with tears as the salty liquid began to trickle down his cheek. A weak hiccup traveled out from between his lips as his breathing began to slow. His body trembled as he felt horribly vulnerable, and his only hand reached up to grip into his jacket. He was unaware of the world around him in that moment, so when the Porkybot spoke up, he jumped.

"You can go now. Next time try not to be a hero, you disgrace." The Porkybot spat. The masked man laid his eye on the Porkybot and watched as it turned and began to walk into the shadows that surrounded he and Porky both. Porky himself seemed content with his actions, and the mechanical spider began to turn to face the large window.

"Leave, my little monster." Porky purred. The masked man let out a soft wheeze as he struggled onto his feet. Without another sound, the masked man carried his beaten body all the way back into the lift that had stayed open, waiting for his return. It was already ready to head back down to the 2nd floor. Masky wobbled into the elevator and looked down at his helmet and blaster. He stared at it for the longest time, stuck in thought. The doors then slowly slid shut behind him, and the soft hiss of them closing broke him out of his trance. He had to fix himself.

He walked towards the two bits of himself and sat down, his face blank as he tried to piece together all the emotions he could now feel. He looked to the knot that was tied in his jacket, then his fingers began to undo the knot. He tugged here and there, loosening up the tight knot, and that was when he first felt a very clear emotion. Anger.

His teeth suddenly grit together as he felt his blood boiling. His motions became harsher and when he undid the knot, he nearly tore off his jacket's sleeve. He was _angry_ , and for once he knew why. Porky. That fat old man only ever bossed him around and abused him. How dare he even lay a hand on him?! It was unfair, what did he even do?! He didn't even pull the needle, and Porky knew damn well he wasn't Claus! He rolled up his sleeve so it would sit comfortably atop his stump, then he picked up his blaster by it's barrel. He turned it over a few times to find the connecting bit, then attached it to the connector and began to turn, twisting it back in place.

His anger soon melted away into another emotion. _Fear_. If this is what Porky could do to him, imagine what he would do if _he_ actually messed up. Oh, Porky would beat him senseless! Give him a concussion! Or even worse, out right kill him! He stopped his heart, what's stopping him from putting it on a permanent pause? The masked man then looked to the helmet, and his wide eyed expression softened.

The next emotion he felt was different, and he could only recognize as 'concern'. He pulled the helmet closer to himself and turned it within his hand. It was when he looked at his reflection that he found the reason he was so worried. Claus. That boy was very well on the road of being killed by Porky, and if this is how Porky treated him, he couldn't even think of what Porky would do to Claus. Masky then leaned back against one of the walls inside the lift, then looked up to the blinking red numbers. 54. He looked back to the helmet and sighed. Then he wrapped his arms around the helmet and pressed his forehead against the top of it.

The next feeling he felt wasn't really an emotion, but it was strange. He felt a strong need to protect within himself, and he knew what he had to protect. He had to protect Claus from Porky's clutches, if only it would leave the boy unscathed.

Finally came one last emotion. Sadness. The masked man's one eye began to leak tears upon realizing why he felt the need to protect Claus. The familiarity he felt when looking at him just reminded him of himself. He then recalled back to when Claus berated him for "not being him" and "being a monster". Claus was right. He wasn't him. He was just another horrible creature Porky made. Or rather, a monster he turned himself into. Masky recalled back to Claus' words back when he found his beaten up blue shoe, and he sobbed weakly into the helmet. If he hadn't went to fought the drago, this would not be happening. Oh how he began to _regret_ fighting the drago.

After a bit of time, the masked man pulled his head away from the beaten up helmet. He used his glove to wipe away the tears that had left trails on the helmet, then he began to stand. He looked up to the numbers and clocked it at the mid 20s. He was getting close, so he had to clean up his act. He wiped his eyes against his arm and blinked out his last few tears. It was there that he felt the bionic eye give from the first push, and Masky sighed deeply.

That eye had been knocked out of place from the punch, and he had to go get that repaired somehow. But for now, he was willing to deal with a broken optic. He had far too much weight on his shoulders to care too deeply about the busted eye. All he knew is that he had to get this helmet into the right hands.

A few more moments passed and the elevator doors finally opened. When they opened, a few white pigmasks were greeted with the sight of a roughed up Masky, and they all shrieked. Many forms rushed over towards Masky, and he heard different types of coos.

"A-Are you okay, my baby?!" One high pitched voice cried.

"Masky, who did this to you?!" Another voice wailed, sounding very distraught. Several different hands reached down to try and pet and soothe the boy, but he didn't let himself be soothed. He pushed past the pigmasks, shouldered past their legs, and walked down the hallway. As he walked, the trail of wailing nurses only grew larger and larger. Every time he turned a corner he was greeted with more and more nurses that quickly cried out the same exact coos as the 15 other nurses sobbed. Though, he continued to ignore them.

It was when he began to walk down the hallway of Claus' room that he said something.

"Stop!" The masked man cried out. His commandeering voice had a crack in it. The nurses all backed off, but they still wore concerned expressions behind those piggy masks. After the nurses all stopped pursuing him, he continued his walk back to Claus room. He looked up at the knob and stared. He only had the one hand after all.

Masky then came to a quick solution and set the helmet down. He then turned the knob and opened the door. Inside, both Doctor Andonuts and Claus were staring at the masked man, eyes wide. The masked man looked between them both, then focused his eye onto Claus. He leaned down, picked up his helmet, and walked directly towards Claus.

Claus could only stare as the masked man approached him. The closer he got, the more details he could see, and the more grotesque those forming bruises looked. Masky stopped right in front of Claus and looked directly at him. It was then that the masked man raised his helmet and handed it to Claus.

Claus looked down at the helmet and stared at it, not sure of what to do with it. He gulped hard but didn't make a move to take it.

"I-It's not going to hurt me, is it?" Claus asked timidly. That statement shook Masky to his very core, and almost insulted that strange protectiveness that formed within himself. Masky's lip began to quiver as he bit back tears, then gave his answer.

"No." He hissed out, his soft voice wavering as he spoke. His own body began to shake as another wave of sadness overcame him. At that moment, he didn't know why Claus was worried he would hurt him.

"But… But that's yours." Claus muttered. He was trying to avoid wearing it, but the masked man insisted. He shook his head and slowly pressed the helmet to his chest.

"I-It's yours." He rasped. Claus could hear the stammer, and he gulped. The bruises on his face coupled with just how much he visibly shook showed him just what Porky was capable of. Porky absolutely destroyed this once tough commander, and turned him into a mess. Though, at this point, Claus wasn't willing to argue with him.

He took the helmet within his hands, looked it over, and slid it onto his head. After that, he adjusted it here and there and pushed up any stray pieces of orange hair. Masky then looked at Claus, and a loud sob suddenly came from Masky's lips as the tears he was biting back finally spilled out.

Those tears trickled down his cheeks as his shoulders shook with each shaking sob, but these weren't tears of utmost sadness. No. The masked man was overcome with a new emotion. Happiness.

Once the masked man's wailing's dissolved into simple sniffles and hiccups, he smiled at Claus. Sure, the smile was wavering and it wasn't really that bright, but it was noticeable. Claus was taken aback by the smile, but he felt some kind of… Familiarity to this. This was the same face he would make whenever he apologized to Lucas after a particularly rough fight. Claus stared at that heart warming face, and he felt inclined to do something.

He reached his hands out towards the masked man, wrapped them around his shoulders, and pulled him into a warm embrace. That was when Masky felt one last emotion. Love.

Claus could feel the masked man's hand gently rubbing along his bicep, it was a weak touch, but it still had it's worth. Claus let out a soft sigh against his shoulder and gave the masked man a squeeze.

"Listen, I know this is weird but… Don't cry." He muttered, then pulled away from the embrace. "I don't like it when I cry." He snickered, and that in turn caused the masked man to laugh. It was a soft and honestly pathetic laugh, but it was there. It was shortly followed by a quick tear wipe, and Claus felt slightly better about the masked man.

Then a nurse slipped in through the doorway, her hands clasped within her lap and her posture straight. No one had notice her enter until she spoke.

"Masky sweetie, lets go get you fixed up." She stated, her voice sounded so soft and gentle. She then held a hand out for Masky to eventually take.

The masked man looked at Claus once more, then turned away and began his awkward shuffling towards her. When he was in range, he extended his hand out to take hers, and he was quickly escorted out of the room by one of his many care takers.

Claus sat back in bed, rubbing his hand along the shape of the helmet. He didn't even think twice about the kind act.

He was almost certain he was still in that weird body. He just knew it.


	9. Emotions

**A/N: Sorry about the super long wait! I suggest re-reading chapter 8 before you delve into chapter 9, but that's up to you! Enjoy!**

Porky's fingers drummed soundlessly against the pink mattress as he watched the events unfold on the small screen. After the beating he gave his disobedient pet, he asked his servants to bring him a monitor to observe what the masked man did right after. Instead they provided him with a tablet, and he threw a fit right as they gave him that pathetic hunk of plastic. Didn't they know he was old?! He couldn't see stuff on such a tiny little screen!

Regardless of his fit, Porky begrudgingly took what he was given, and watched. He watched the pathetic display of the masked man putting himself back together. He watched his slow march through the medical floor. He even watched the tearful interaction between him and Claus. Tearful.

"Of course that monster can't do anything right." Porky snarled under his breath as he tossed the tablet across the heart shaped bed. He flopped his head back and a low gurgle escaped his throat. His beloved girls all threw their arms around him and one even placed her chin against his chest.

"What's wrong, my king?" She asked, batting her eyelashes as she spoke.

"It's nothing you should worry about." Porky murmured as he stroked the brunette's hair out of her face. Despite his words, he began to shift out from under his swarm of women. When they all began to dawn looks of shock and confusion, Porky spoke. "I need to leave. Call a nurse."

The girls all stared at him for the longest time, then rolled off the bed to go retrieve a nurse. Now that he was left alone, he decided what to do. He had to 'fix' the masked man.

Meanwhile, a layer of silence had caked over both Claus and Doctor Andonuts ever since the masked man left the room. There was just a tense feeling of disbelief that neither Claus nor Andonuts could shake. The fact that the masked man showed raw and pure _emotion_ silenced both the boy and the scientist. Both were now wondering just why the masked man snapped like this. What tortures did Porky put him through to warrant such a violent out pour of feelings?

The silence was finally broken by a mere statement that floated out of Doctor Andonuts.

"I didn't think he actually looked like you." There was a weak chuckle after those words. "I thought you were just over exaggerating."

Claus, with a bit of effort, turned his head to look at Doctor Andonuts. This helmet was awfully heavy for his neck, but the cushioning inside it made it seem safe enough.

"I'm not a liar, I never lie." That was a lie. Claus was an avid liar, but that would only show whenever an omelet or his pride was on the line. Shortly after his words, he laid his head down onto the pillow and sighed heavily.

"So… Are there three of you? Are you and Lucas actually triplets instead of twins?" Andonuts asked. Claus tried to shake his head, but when that was useless, he spoke.

"No, we're just twins. I don't-"

"Yes yes, I know you don't belong here." Doctor Andonuts interrupted. "You've stressed that fact enough as is. I'm just making sure you didn't accidentally take the place of a third sibling."

"...It would've been nice to have a third sibling." Claus muttered wistfully as he gazed at the closed door. His comment was simply ignored as Andonuts reached a conclusion.

"I do believe what you have described to me is a time warp." He said matter-of-factly.

"A time _what_?" He knew what he was grasping at was something strange, but the thought of a 'time warp' was absolutely alien to him.

"A time warp. It's when reality is altered ever so slightly regarding it's timeline. It appears that your timeline crossed paths with this timeline, and you're here now due to a wormhole."

"W-Wormhole?" Claus had the look of utmost disbelief as he tried to process these foreign words.

"Yes, a wormhole. You remember when you and Lucas were running, correct?"

"Yeah?"

"Then you noticed he disappeared after you turned around."

"Uh huh?"

"It could very well be that you ran straight into a wormhole without knowing it, and the wormhole just happened to lead into this timeline. That's why you're here."

Claus narrowed his eyes as he struggled to wrap his head around it.

"But… Why didn't Lucas go through it?" Claus inquired, "Why isn't he here with me?" He then locked eyes with Doctor Andonuts.

"Wormholes are finicky things. They take certain things and leave others, and sometimes they just appear instantaneously."

"But why me?!" Claus burst out in sudden rage. He slammed a hand down onto the mattress. "Why did it take me and not anyone else?!"

Doctor Andonuts just shrugged, and Claus groaned out at the lack of an answer. To try and soothe his dismay, Andonuts made an attempt to provide information.

"It could've been an accidental wormhole, or a purposeful one."

That didn't help the situation one bit.

"W-What do you mean there's 'purposeful' wormholes?!" Claus shouted, which caused Doctor Andonuts to slowly reach out and press a hand to his chest.

"Relax Claus, you're getting far too worked up over this."  
"I have every right to be worked up! This shouldn't have happened! I'm supposed to be with Lucas, but nooo! I'm stuck here, in a bed that's not my own, with a heavy helmet pinning me to the pillow!"

"You know you can take it off, right?"

Claus went still and seemed to relax, then he defensively tossed a hand up against the helmet.

"But it'd be rude." Claus mumbled.

"Now you're worried about offending the masked man?" Doctor Andonuts chuckled, which caused Claus to groan.

"You saw how he got! He cried Doc, _**cried**_! I don't want him crying again!"

"So now you care about him?" Andonuts leaned forward to look down his nose at Claus. Claus shrunk under his gaze and frowned.

"A-A bit." That answer caused Andonuts to slowly shake his head and stare back at the door.

"It's understandable, but hopefully you'll excuse my distrust of this whole show." Claus' eyes widened and his brows knitted as he felt almost insulted. That was raw emotion and Andonuts was just brushing it away!

"You don't believe him, do you?" Claus hissed accusingly.

"Well, no." Andonuts side eyed Claus, watching as his face twisted into an expression of anger once again. "He's recently been in contact with Porky. We don't know if this whole emotional outburst is just an act to get you to bond with him. For all we know, Porky just wants to use him to find your weaknesses and exploit them." Andonuts then turned back to face Claus, whose expression dropped into one of realization. He had a point. What if this was all just an act?

"B-But… He was-" Claus was then cut off by the door being thrown open. Both Andonuts and Claus looked to the doorway, but what stood there was far from what they expected.

There stood a nurse, her frame stiff and her chest heaving with every breath she took. Andonuts went to speak, but almost as if she knew he was going to say something, she blurted out a phrase that was new to both Claus and Andonuts.

"We need you, Doctor Andonuts. It's about the masked man." She did the best she could to sound serious, but with how her voice quivered, she was concerned.

"Well, what's wrong with him?" Doctor Andonuts asked as he straightened out his coat and walked towards the nurse. Once Andonuts was close enough, she replied.

"H-He's sort of cycling..." She muttered, her voice now down to a whisper. Doctor Andonuts' eyes widened at that, and he turned back to glance at Claus before looking to the nurse.

"Don't only women do that?" He whispered right back.

"A-Andonuts!" The nurse almost shrieked as she slapped his arm. She then looked back at Claus and swallowed before taking Andonuts by his arm and pulling him out into the hallway. "Now is not the time for lewd jokes!" She scolded.

"What do you mean lewd jokes?! It's a serious question!" Andonuts cried out as he was hauled away by a very flustered nurse. The nurse suddenly stopped in her place and shoved Doctor Andonuts back into a wall. She then gripped the front of his coat in her hands and pressed her knuckles against his chest.

"Something about him is just..." Her hands began to tremble as they loosened their hold. " _Wrong_." The pigmask's voice sounded so broken. After her statement, she released Doctor Andonuts and kept her hands to her sides. She refused to make eye contact with him as she cast her eyes down to the floor.

"How so?" Doctor Andonuts ventured to ask as he fixed up his lab coat and adjusted his glasses. This wasn't normal. Most of the nurses here were calm and collected about the masked man, but this one in particular was distraught and deeply troubled. Whatever was up with the masked man was something that had to be corrected, and pronto.

"He's just not _there_." The pigmask drew a breath as she searched for the words to describe the masked man's issue. "He keeps cycling through _emotions_. One second he's happy, the next he's crying, then he's suddenly fearful of every single nurse around him. It's not like him to be afraid of us!" Her voice cracked, and the poor nurse turned away and placed a hand against the front of the mask's pig like snout. Doctor Andonuts sighed deeply and placed a hand onto her shoulder.

"Let me go look at him." His voice was low, almost soothing. He wasn't exactly great with the whole 'comforting' thing, but he knew when comforting was needed. After he gave the nurse's shoulder a quick rub, she stepped back and straightened herself out.

"I'm sorry, it's just-" The nurse was then interrupted by Andonuts raising a hand.

"I know. Just take me to him." Was all he said, and the two began their gravely quiet walk to the room that held much more than it should.

Upon striding up to the door, Doctor Andonuts could feel the stress pouring out from the bottom of it. He heard different pigmasks hiccuping and soft coos for a certain chimera to settle down. It sounded a lot like several different mothers trying to ease their child into the arms of death. Far too gloomy for his tastes, but he'd have to endure it. For the nurses. For Claus.

He rapped his knuckles against the door, waited a second, and eased open the door. Once he had enough space, he peered into the room. He saw at least ten nurses crowded around the paper-lined medical bed, and three nurses off to the side with their masks off and wiping away tears. It had grown deafly quiet, though Doctor Andonuts pushed past the door and stepped into the room. The nurse from earlier followed in, totaling the nurse count to fourteen. Fourteen nurses, one 'doctor', and one 'patient'. In all of his years of scientific research, he had never felt so claustrophobic in his entire life.

Upon further inspection of the room, he noticed a dark splotch across one of the walls. It was then that he noted the room smelled faintly of burnt paint; when he gave a nurse a quick glance, she answered his unspoken question.

"M-Masky sort of… shot randomly." She admitted. Doctor Andonuts cocked a brow and eased closer.

"He won't shoot me, will he?" He inquired, now a bit on edge with the fact that this chimera wasn't exactly declawed yet.

"No. We took the blaster from him." She reassured. Doctor Andonuts let his eyes roam around the room in search of the cannon that they had confiscated, and he found it resting in one of the corners of this room, the furthest one from the medical bed. He scoffed and stepped closer towards the bench. As he drew near, the nurses all parted, letting him through and forming two neat rows parallel to the bench. Once Doctor Andonuts laid his eyes on the masked man, he could almost feel the internal turmoil just radiating from him.

The masked man clutched his stump of an arm as he trembled, his eye darting up to meet with Andonuts'. Eye. Andonuts squinted slightly and cupped his hand around his cheek to turn his head, and he was met with no resistance from the usually aggressive boy. He kept his focus on the closed eye. When he went to touch it, the masked man flinched away and hissed. It was almost as if Doctor Andonuts pressed a button, because shortly after that twitch, tears began to pour from his open eye.

It was a silent cry, and the masked man seemed too stubborn to let the jarring sobs leave his firmly closed lips. It was almost as if he was trying to pick up the pieces of himself, but each attempt was met with his resolve dissolving some more.

When a nurse reached out to try and wipe away his fresh tears, Doctor Andonuts felt himself snap. The close quarters, these clingy nurses, the fact that there was an emotionally unstable child right before him. It was all too much, and with a deep breath, he let out an order.

"I ask for all of you to please leave this room. Aren't there any other pigmasks for you to treat?!"

The nurses all froze in place, startled by the fact that the usually passive doctor had the gall to yell at them. The one nurse that went to wipe away the masked man's tears pulled her hand to her chest before glancing around to make sure no one was giving her a bad look. The other nurses however were too busy processing what the doctor before them just said.

"I-Is he feeling ill?" One poor nurse peeped up from the crowd around the table. Doctor Andonuts let his gaze fall towards the spot he heard the soft voice flutter up from, but he couldn't quite tell which pigmask said the offending phrase. Curse these look alikes.

"He's feeling more than ill, he's _feeling_! Period!" Doctor Andonuts pointed to the door. "I'm not going to say this again. Please, leave!" He commanded. The pigmasks all looked between each other, exchanging looks that Doctor Andonuts couldn't see, and whispers he couldn't understand. The doctor's simple gaze turned into a glare the longer the women stood around, and he knew just why they weren't leaving. He let out an exasperated groan and spoke.

"I'm not going to kill the poor boy, I'm only trying to examine him! I can't give him a good look over with all of you breathing down my neck!" He clenched his fists and listened as the room fell deathly still once more. He studied the women once again, and one brave soul turned away from the medical bench and started towards the door.

"He's right. We're probably stressing him out." She said in a soft and saddened tone. The pigmask that led him to this room stepped away to allow that woman to walk through the door. After she stepped out, other nurses looked to Masky before pulling away and shuffling out as well. One by one they all filed out and the population of the room dropped.

Soon, after the last three nurses left, the nurse that dragged him here in the first place went to leave. Andonuts stopped her before she could even step foot into the hallway.

"Wait!" He called. The nurse stopped in the doorway, and pivoted on her heels to face Andonuts. Andonuts swallowed before motioning for her to come closer. "You get to stay."

The nurse stood there for quite a while. She debated whether or not to walk back to the medical bench.

"Are you sure he won't feel differently with me there?" She said in a soft and trembling voice. Andonuts' expression softened as he lowered his hand.

"I...I wouldn't think so. I'm sure he would rather see you than see me at this time." He chuckled rather nervously before scratching the nape of his neck. "If what you said was true, I'm sure seeing you would help calm him down during a fit." That made the nurse snicker as she strode towards him.

"What kind of fit, that's the real question." She snipped, and Andonuts could feel the smile beaming out from under her mask.

"Any fit. You seem right for the job." He shrugged before gesturing towards the young boy that had stopped crying long ago and was now struggling to contain his emotions. The nurse rounded the bench and stood on the other side.

Both the doctor and the nurse loomed over the masked man, yet he didn't glance at either of them. Instead he kept his opened eye locked onto the ceiling and his lips were pressed closed. Andonuts took this strange silence as an opportunity to look him over, so he went to work. He gripped his chin and turned his head again. He pressed his fingertips against the lid of the closed eye, but this time the masked man didn't react. There wasn't a flinch, nor were there tears. In fact, the masked man was eerily quiet.

Doctor Andonuts cautiously pried open the closed eye, and grimaced at the sight before him. The optic that had been previously punched out by a Porkybot was knocked out of place. Not only was it sunken back into his skull, but the optic itself had a glaring crack right down the middle. It was useless at this point in time, and not even Doctor Andonuts could fix it.

Andonuts also noted the blood that stained the bionic eye. It seemed like the masked man suffered some kind of trauma to cause this bleeding, but sadly, Doctor Andonuts couldn't look for much longer.

The lids suddenly slipped out of his hold as the masked man closed it, and a sudden and deep gasp was heard from the young boy. Doctor Andonuts jumped back and pulled his hands away while the nurse placed a hand onto Masky's head. The masked man shook his head away from her hand as another startled gasp was heard from him.

His body was tensed up as his eye widened; fear had overcome the young boy. The nurse gently placed her hand to his arm in an attempt to calm him, but the masked man quickly kicked out at her. The pigmask, with a high pitched cry, released him and stepped back until her back hit the wall. She pressed a hand to where she was kicked as her form sulked. The kick didn't hurt as much as one would expect, but it hurt her emotionally. This was practically her child, and her child was _afraid_ of her. What kind of mother was she that she _scared_ her own child.

Though, this fearful display wasn't one that the masked man could control. This sudden surge of terror he was feeling was a result of his emotions being forcefully bottled up. He wasn't allowed to feel anything more than just 'the right kind of anger'. Now that his system was buzzing with all kinds of feelings, he didn't know what to do. His first instinct was to aim that stump of an arm, but he dropped it the second he recalled what had become of the blaster. The masked man now sat frozen, his heart racing and his face blanched.

Doctor Andonuts however cautiously stepped closer. He held a hand out and went to press it to the masked man's shoulder. The second he was touched, Masky turned his head sharply to stare at Andonuts dead in the eyes, pure horror glinting in his remaining eye. Andonuts was taken aback by the look, but he pressed on. He placed his other hand onto Masky's other shoulder and gave them both a squeeze.

"M-Masked man, relax. Deep breaths, okay?" He tried to sound reassuring, but the tremble in his voice gave away he was less than prepared to deal with whatever storm was coming.

And boy, it was nearly a cyclone.

With the returning of emotions, came the wave of memories that had been locked away behind a wall of code and orders. These memories were hazy, almost ghostly, but the masked man could still make out just what the memories provided. And he could recall Doctor Andonuts.

Ah yes, the doctor that helped tear him apart. The one that drugged him and made sure he was to never wake again. The one that turned him into this beast.

The masked man's mouth hung open as the flashes of that eventful day overcame his limited vision, and Andonuts was disturbed by whatever demons the boy was facing. He looked helplessly to the nurse, who simply shrugged. The fact that Andonuts glanced away from the boy was something he'd regret.

It happened as fast as lightning. The masked man shoved Doctor Andonuts with enough force to knock him off his feet. Andonuts now laid on the ground, frozen in shock that the one armed boy was able to perform such a feat. Though, despite Doctor Andonuts' awe, the masked man didn't cease his advances. At first his stump shifted slightly and was then slapped back to his side, almost as if he were trying to aim an absent blaster at Andonuts. Shortly after, he slid off the medical bench, much to the dismay of the nurse that had kept her vigilant eyes on him.

Now the masked man was looming over the doctor, his teeth grinding together as he glared daggers at him. Andonuts then made a move to stand, but the masked man quickly tossed himself onto him. His one hand wrapped around his throat and proceeded to squeeze, and due to his strength, Doctor Andonuts was easily over powered by the younger boy.

A strangled cry left Andonuts' now strained throat as both hands pressed against the masked man's chest and pushed. The nurse heard the strange sound, and quickly darted past the makeshift bed to try and separate the two fighting parties. Since the boy only had a small hold on his trachea, he was easily shoved away by the much stronger and older man. The masked man stumbled back and nearly collapsed as the nurse ran to the doctor's aid.

"A-Are you okay?!" The pigmask asked as he rubbed his neck and coughed.

"I-I think so." He wheezed and cleared his throat rather violently. The nurse then held a hand out for the doctor to take as she let her eyes rest on the masked man.

"Masky, what's gotten into you?" She said rather sternly, but she stopped speaking when she saw the look of pure rage within her small child's eye. She then noticed him reaching for something, something that was attached at his waist… Oh no.

It was his sword. The sword that had one of the most cleverly hidden sheaths she had not seen. None of the nurses had even noticed it, and unknowingly allowed him to keep it. It was in the heat of the moment that the masked man recalled he had the sword, and since he was no longer pretending to be the boy he once was, he intended to use it.

The masked man drew his golden sword and pointed it directly at Andonuts. There was a tense moment of silence as all the two humans stared this deranged chimera down. Before the nurse could start to scold the masked man, he stepped forward and lunged for Doctor Andonuts, his sword gripped tightly within his hand.

Andonuts pressed his heels to the ground and pushed himself away from both the nurse and the approaching masked man. However, the nurse stepped in front of the masked man and held her arms out to shield the doctor from his attacks.

"Masky!" She called out. He came to a sudden stop right before her and looked up, his lips pulled into a large frown. "You need to relax and put that sword away before you hurt someone!" She scolded, trying to get through to the brainwashed child she'd known. The masked man's one eyed glare didn't falter one bit, and he gripped the sword tightly.

Without even a hint of hesitation, the boy raised his sword and lunged for the nurse.

Time went still as Andonuts stared at the nurse's back. He didn't expect to hear the sound of footsteps after the pigmask's stern voice, nor did he expect to see her form tense up. He then saw a red stain quickly growing along the small of her back, and that was followed by her shoulders slacking and her body going limp. Before Andonuts could call out a startled 'nurse', the woman before him collapsed onto her side.

It was then that Andonuts saw the terrifying expression the masked man wore. The wide eyed and monsterous look, the look of killers… No, this was not the masked man. Even _he_ wasn't like this. This wasn't the masked man, nor was this Claus. This had to have been someone else. Another being that was ultimately broken by whatever Porky had put him through. Doctor Andonuts then noticed a flash of pure horror that dawned on the boy's face. That look was quickly wiped away by whatever primal instinct was driving him in that moment.

That primal urge had told him to murder. Murder anything that dared to hurt him, in an attempt to keep it from hurting him again. He pulled his sword out of the wound he created, raised it, and brought it down and into her side. He then yanked it back out and plunged it into another spot. He stabbed and stabbed until the nurse's white suit was stained red and he was certain she was no longer breathing. He had finally grown tired of being held captive by these monsters. He had finally grown tired of being experimented on. He had finally grown tired of being the masked man.

Doctor Andonuts was frozen in fear at the fact that the masked man had finally snapped. When the boy laid his eye back onto Andonuts, he felt his heart stop and his blood run cold. The look in his eye was animalistic, showing that this boy was truly unhinged. There was no reasoning with him.

He pressed his palms into the ground and continued to push himself back as he stepped over the corpse and strode over to Andonuts. He raised his sword, pointed the tip at Andonuts, and got ready to lunge. But, something stopped him. Something that would normally bring dread, for once brought an uneasy relief.

"Ah ah ah!" Porky's voice rung out, freezing the ginger boy in place. He lowered his sword and looked up to the ceiling where he heard the voice. "What do you think you're doing?" Porky gasped, his voice lacking any serious tone. That itself seemed to snap him out of his deranged daze, as Andonuts noticed the boy relax. Porky's soft hum was then heard throughout the room as he surveyed it through his small screen.

"What a bad boy!" He suddenly scolded, sounding as if he were speaking to a dog. "Look at what you did! You killed one of our nurses!" The boy then lost his grip on his sword, and it clattered loudly against the tiled floor. "You didn't even think about it, did you? What a bad boy!" Andonuts had his eyes glued to the ginger, waiting for him to try and strangle him again. Yet, the boy was frozen, almost accepting the scolding.

"Look at her!" He ordered, and the ginger boy looked down at the nurse, whose blood was now pooling around her and his feet. "Look what you did to poor… To the nurse! You should be ashamed of yourself!" Porky's voice still didn't have a single hint of seriousness to it, but the boy still looked absolutely shocked.

As he came to terms with what he had done, his shoulders sagged. He had killed someone, and they were someone who supported him ever since he had arrived to this horrible place. He felt an overwhelming need to cry as he dropped down to his knees, his pants now staining with the blood of the fallen as he settled close to the pool of blood surrounding the ex-nurse.

A burning sensation began to well up in the back of his throat as regret and self-depreciation started to set in. He couldn't believe himself. He couldn't believe he had managed to kill someone he loved dearly. He just couldn't even begin to understand why, he didn't even fully understand why he unhinged so violently.

The small flashes of memories from before began to fill his mind. They rattled around before melting into one cohesive line of thought. The sight of his fallen mother, the drago, the cliff and the crippling pain that came from falling off of it. That was quickly followed by the blur of pigmasks and doctors alike and their strange tools that tore into his tender flesh. Then came the ghosts and wisps of all of the 'commanding' he had done as a commander, and topped off by the soft whisper of his voice scolding himself. It was all far too much for the poor boy to take.

He began to cry.

From his eye came a waterfall of tears that mingled with the blood at his knees. He was beginning to realize just how messed up he was. Just what monstrosity he had been turned into. He was more disappointed in himself in that moment to really care about the fact that Porky's snickering could be heard echoing within the room. Porky then drew a breath and continued his mean spirited teasing.

"Oh, I wonder what would Claus think!" Porky crowed. The ginger boy cocked his head up and stared up at the ceiling once again.

Claus…

That was his name, but he knew he was not the Claus in question. His eye then widened as he looked to Doctor Andonuts.

Oh god no. Claus was left alone!

"You should go check on him." Porky then added coldly. The orange haired boy's heart dropped and his body went rigid. With tears still streaming down his cheek, he staggered up to his feet and sprinted for the door, completely bolting past Doctor Andonuts. If there was one thing he felt like he needed to do, it was to protect the version of him that had yet to fall victim to Porky's torture.

Though, he'd have to deal with another set of obstacles standing in his way before he could get to his doppelganger.

When he pushed open the door, he was greeted with the sight of white suited nurses all huddled around the door. They were there, waiting for Andonuts' verdict, when the once masked man stumbled on through. Upon noticing he had exited the room, they all took to cooing and trying to wipe away his tears.

The ginger boy stood there, his artificial heart racing and his mind flashing with all sorts of gory imagery. These nurses all looked exactly like the one he had mutilated not long ago. When one nurse went forth and touched his cheek, he used his hand to push her away. When he pulled away, a red stain took the place of his hand, and the nurse stumbled back.

He dawned a look of fear as he thought he had unconsciously stabbed another nurse. It was when the nurses all stopped their cooing and their touches that he looked down at his hand. His glove was painted red. Red with the blood of the chilling body just a few strides away.

Everything was quiet, none of the nurses made a single move towards him. Every time he glanced to yet another nurse, they withered under his look. The tears that trailed down his cheek continued to fall as he shuffled closer to one of the nurses, both his arm and his stump out stretched for some kind of hug. He needed a show of affection, he wanted to show he wasn't dangerous. But the nurse only cowered and jumped away from him, and ended up pinning herself to the wall. A shaky sob tore it's way out of his throat as he dropped his arms.

He was a monster, and there was no changing that.

Then came a startled shriek that sounded all too familiar to the boy, and he turned sharply towards the end of the hallway. He had almost forgotten about Claus.

With tears still blurring what was left of his vision, he bounded down the hallway and turned the corner, and he was greeted with a horrifying sight. He saw Claus with his helmet, just how he left him, but now he was hoisted over a Porkybot's shoulder and being carried off. Claus was beating frantically at the bot, and each time he landed a punch he hissed with pain. It wasn't wise to punch a man made of metal.

When Claus saw the broken boy down the corridor, he stopped his fighting and extended a hand out towards him.

"M-Masky!" He cried out. He didn't even seem to mind the blood on the boy.

Masky wasn't any help in that moment. The tears continued to fall down his cheek, soaking the front of his shirt. He just felt so weak. Just seeing the Porkybot whisking Claus away made him feel powerless. It was almost as if he was watching history repeat itself from another perspective.

But then he remembered something. This wasn't the past, and that wasn't him being pulled away. That was Claus, and he was not about to let his old innocent self be turned into a brutal killing machine.

The sound of the stairwell door closing resonated through him, and he sprinted forward and down the hall. He ran as fast as he could, threw open the heavy metal door, and watched as the blond haired bot cleared the final steps. Now he was pissed.

Despite the tears still falling down his face, he was furious. They had changed from salty tears of sadness to bitter tears of rage, and he was going to act on his anger. He stormed down the flight of stairs, taking two steps at a time, and he jumped down the last five to reach the floor. Once both feet were planted firmly onto the ground, he ran straight for the 'secret' door that had yet to close fully when the Porkybot ran through.

With his only hand, he pulled the door open, enough for him to dart between the hunks of concrete and into the foggy hot spring room. It was hard to see between the tears and the steam, but he heard the front doors of the tower close. How the hell was this Porkybot running so fast?! That thing had to have been at least 200 pounds, plus Claus' weight!

Masky sped through the lobby of the tower, not even noticing that the attendant from earlier was absent. He ran up to the double glass doors, throwing them open with the one hand he had left. He peered down the metal street. He could see the Porkybot waddling off, all the while Claus was shrieking and banging his fists against the hunk of metal. Poor boy would probably have bruises along his knuckles at that rate, but hey, at least he was attempting to fight back.

The unmasked boy ran down the empty road, hunting down this roly poly beacon of misfortune and sadness. He was going to put an end to this, and now.

That is, he was. Until he watched the Porkybot suddenly turn left and hurl himself right over the railing. It happened so quickly, Masky could barely register that the Porkybot and Claus both were gone. He stopped down the street and looked over at the bit of railing the Porkybot hurled itself over, and he darted to that. He peered over the ledge and saw nothing. His heart almost stopped beating right then and there.

Horrible thoughts began to swim in his mind. Porky probably sent that Porkybot to kill Claus, to absolutely destroy him and destroy the masked man's resolve. He probably knew how close he began to hold Claus to what was left of his heart, and he wanted to yank him away just as he got attached. Frustrated but saddened tears trailed down his cheek as he placed his arm on the railing and nestled his head against it. His chest shuddered with every hiccuping sob.

"Meet me at the Chimera Labs!" Called out a faint but familiar voice. Masky pulled his head up from the crook of his arm and looked around. Towards the end of the top platform, he saw him. He saw the Porkybot with Claus in tow, hovering in air. After that helpful message, it ducked down and disappeared into the abyss surrounding New Pork City.

Chimera Labs. Of course. The masked man wiped away his tears, took a deep breath, and allowed his wings to spring out from his back. He then turned and raced down the length of the road, his wings roaring to life as the jets turned on. Once he gained enough speed, his jets angled themselves and his feet were pulled off the ground. Soon, he soared over the edge of the railing, and was now on route to the Chimera Labs. Just like Porky wanted.

Masky took to the skies, eye focused on what he swore was the distancing form of the Porkybot. Though, now that the frenzy that went on at New Pork City was over, his emotions began to flourish. Now that he was no longer on the brink of madness, things like fear and anxiety began to eat away at his mind. His mind started to wander to all kinds of horrible things that could happen. Maybe the Porkybot would just drop and kill Claus in the process. Maybe Porky finally grew tired of having Claus be human. Oh god, what would Porky turn Claus into?

What if Claus turned out to be more horrifying and monstrous than he was?

He wanted to hurry up and rescue Claus, but each time he sped up to try and catch up to the Porkybot, it would drift further and further away. It seemed useless to try and break the sound barrier. Tears lined the good eye he had, but he tried his hardest to fight them off. He was tired of crying, tired of falling to pieces. He was going to rescue Claus, even if it killed him!

He tried to direct his malleable mind to some of the better emotions, like happiness. He made an effort to imagine the after math of rescuing Claus. For sure he would return him to Lucas, and like heck would he return to Porky! Everyone would live happily ever after, and the story would end! But doubts began to seep into his happy thoughts.

They were the usual doubts, mostly along the lines of 'would he be able to save Claus'. He feared that in his weakened state he would not be the strong commander he was made out to be. When he saw the Chimera Labs easing closer along the horizon, all he could do is hope that he would be able to relieve Claus of the stress that Porky caused.

As the Chimera Labs drew closer, he could see the Porkybot land and dart on into the labs. He squinted, keeping his eyes glued to the door. Though, he was quite surprised when he saw a yellow and red form slip it's way through the doors as well. He didn't even see where that other person came from! Then again, his vision was halved after all.

He extended his legs out and eased his jets back, sloping down to land onto the grassy patch just a bit before the labs themselves. He sprinted for the door, not even bothering to retract his wings. On his way in though, he rapped the side of the entrance with one of his wings, but he was not deterred from his hunt for Claus. He ran through the lobby, which was oddly vacant of any pigmasks. He stood in the middle of the first hallway, waiting for some kind of hint as to where Claus was.

"Let me go!" Cried out Claus' voice, but his voice bounced off the walls and it seemed to come from every which way. Masky let out a soft sigh as he looked around. He noticed that the room that was home to all sorts of dangerous machines and medicines was wide open. He began to dread the worst, and so he ran straight down the hall. Just before he reached the opened doorway, another voice called out.

"Claus?" It sounded shaky, almost as if it were scared. Masky stopped his running, and he heard footsteps slowly come up behind him. He turned around sharply and stared the young boy in the face.

It was Lucas, and Lucas looked so distressed.

"Claus? I-Is that really you?" A small smile appeared on Lucas' face as a small glint shimmered in his eyes. That itself struck a nerve with Masky.

He began to shake his head as tears welled up in his eye, and this time he couldn't fight them back. He sniffled and stepped back. He was not Claus. He would never be Claus.

From the now blurred vision, Masky could see something moving at the other side of the hallway, and he recognized just what it was. It was the Porkybot from before, and it was sprinting up the stairs.

"Lucas!" Claus' voice cried out, and Lucas turned to look for the source of the sound. Masky took that moment to shove past Lucas, sending him tumbling as he ran to go help Claus. There was such a great need for _him_ to be the hero this time, not Lucas. After all, he was saving _himself_ from the clutches of evil.

Once he reached the stairway that the Porkybot climbed up, he leapt up the stairs after him, clearing three steps at a time in his haste. His wings both clipped the railing along the flight of stairs, but he pressed on.

Now that he was on the second floor, he watched as the Porkybot ran as fast as it could down the hallway. Masky let out a deep, but stuffed breath out of his nose, straightened his back out, and broke out into a dash. His wings began to putter here and there as he tried to use his jets to propell himself forward. It worked for the most part, since he began to inch closer and closer to the running Porkybot. But then it turned, and Masky dug his heels into the tiled floor. He slid along the floor, practically leaving skid marks as his momentum carried him into the wall. The hit wasn't too strong, but it was just enough to give him a good knock to the head.

Masky stumbled back and placed his hand against his skull. His vision swam for a good bit, then he shook the stars out of his eyes. He couldn't stay preoccupied for long, and he wiped away the tears that wouldn't stop flowing. It didn't help that he heard Lucas' footsteps trailing behind him.

"C-Claus!" Lucas cried out, waving his hand. Masky turned around, and a new wave of heartache flooded his eyes. "Please, wait!" He pleaded. In that moment, Masky waited. Despite his instincts telling him to run and save Claus, he just couldn't stop himself from… well… stopping for his brother.

A sob left his lips the moment Lucas drew close. Lucas pressed his hands against Masky's shoulders, trying to calm him down.

"W-Why are you crying?" Lucas inquired, his heart fluttering as he unknowingly met with his true brother. Tears pricked at the corners of his own eyes as he held him close. Masky shook his head and pressed his blood stained hand against Lucas' chest, pushing him away. Lucas immediately dawned a look of hurt on his face, which hurt Masky more than he expected.

A very soft "C-Claus?" left Lucas' mouth as he watched Masky turn away. Masky then pointed down the stairs. When Lucas looked helplessly down the stairs, Masky grunted and gripped the front of his shirt.

"I-I'm not Claus." A broken, wavering, and soft voice was pulled out of Masky. It was a ghost of the voice he used to have. Lucas flinched and stepped back, the tears at the corners of his eyes falling as he looked him over.

"Then… Who are you?" He gasped out.

"M-Masked man." He hissed out. He then pointed back down the stairs. "P-Porky has Claus." He practically whispered.

"Who's Porky?" Lucas sounded oh so worried.

"A monster." Masky replied. He looked down the stairs and began to run down them. Lucas let out a soft gasp, wiped away his tears, and ran after.

"H-hey, wait up!" Lucas called out. Masky stopped right before the chimera room, his eye wide as he feared the worst. When Lucas caught up with Masky, he too saw what was going on.

The Porkybot had managed to find a scalpel, and now he was holding it up against Claus' tender throat, threatening to slice him open.

"Oh, you've made a new friend!" The Porkybot chirped. Masky's brows furrowed as the tears finally stopped flowing. A burning feeling of resentment began to build up in his chest as he glared at the Porkybot.

"Lucas!" Claus called out, but the Porkybot tightened it's hold on him and pressed the scalpel further against his throat. Masky nearly lunged, but Lucas grabbed his shoulder before he could run. Masky glared at Lucas, but stepped back and pressed his wings against his back.

"You're not gonna chase me down? You're not gonna try to work your PK magic on me?" The Porkybot was practically taunting the other two boys, but unintentionally sparked an idea in Claus' head. When no reply came from either boy, the Porkybot jostled Claus and pressed the tip of the scalpel to his developing Adam's apple.

"What heros you two are! Well, 'hero' and a monster!" He teased, looking at the once masked boy. Masky flinched and watched the Porkybot out of resentment. Though, both Lucas and he began to see small pink specks flutter around both the Porkybot and Claus. It seemed that the Porkybot was unaware as to what was going on.

"I can't believe they sent a stupid blond to try and take down a king! A leader!" The Porkybot harped. More pink specks began to litter the air around both him and Claus. "And let's got get started with you, Mr. Killer-pants! You didn't even get yourself cleaned up! You still have all of your mistakes on your clothes!" That little quip hit Masky right in the chest. He looked down to his bloodied knees and glanced at Lucas, who was also looking at his knees.

Lucas and Masky both locked eyes, and Lucas dawned a horrified look. Masky wilted at the look and looked back to the Porkybot. He couldn't look for much longer, or else he'd start crying again.

"Both of you are idiots! Especially since you're both trying to get rid of me!" He called out. He tossed his head back and a hearty laugh left his speakers. But then a loud chime was heard, and the pink specks all fluttered away from the robot and Claus both. The blond bot went still.

Claus took the hand that had the scalpel pressed to his throat and pulled it away, then he shoved the robot to the floor. Claus was declared the winner the moment the metal hit the floor, and he sprinted to both Masky and Lucas.

Oddly enough, when Lucas went in for the hug, Masky shoved him aside and threw his arm around Claus. Claus was taken aback by the sudden hug, but he stiffly hugged right back. He gave his back a few slow pats.

"T-Thanks for uh… Trying to save me." Claus muttered into Masky's ear. Masky smiled and pressed his face into Claus' shoulder. He took in a deep breath and then pulled away.

Lucas was next to receive a hug, and Claus was a lot happier about hugging his brother. Though, he knocked his heavy helmet against Lucas. When Lucas peeped out in pain, Claus let out a roaring laugh as he stepped away.

"I missed you so much Lucas!" He admitted, then leaned in for another tight hug. Lucas laughed as well as he returned the hug.

"I-I missed you too!" But for once, he had no happy tears to cry. He glanced at the smiling mimic of his brother, already having spent his tears on him. Claus then stepped away and placed his hands on his hips.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get outta here!" Claus announced, and Lucas cheered. Claus turned and ran down the hall with Lucas hot on his tail. Though, Masky stayed behind. It wasn't until Claus was close to the lobby that he realized Masky wasn't joining them. Claus turned back to face Masky, and he motioned for him to come, but Masky shook his head. Claus tutted softly and turned to Lucas.

"Stay here for a second, try not to get kidnapped or something." Claus mused, then he ran right back to Masky's side. Masky turned away from Claus and eyed up the fallen corpse of the robot before him.

"Masky, we aren't leaving without you." Claus stated sternly. He was determined to make his clone go with him, whether he wanted to come or not.

"...I'm staying." Masky rasped. Claus tried not to gasp, but he was visibly taken back by his statement.

"What? Why? Don't you want to leave Porky?" Claus really didn't want to leave him behind. But Masky was dead set on staying.

He held out his bloodied palm to Claus, who looked at it and gasped. There was a pause between both of them, then Claus spoke.

"W-Whose blood is it?" Claus whispered. Masky's eye began to tear up and his lip quivered, but still no sobs left his lips.

"N-Nurse." He whimpered. Claus looked back down to the palm and frowned, but before he could insist on Masky coming, Masky spoke. "T-Too dangerous. For the best." His voice cracked at the second sentence, and Claus slowly wrapped his arms around him.

"But- But it's not for the best! You're gonna get hurt by Porky again!" Claus felt almost insulted by the fact that Masky wanted to stay, but he knew it was going to be hard to sway his decision.

"Better me than you." Masky added, and shortly after a pathetic little sob left his lips. Claus pulled back to look at Masky in the eye.

"But I don't want to leave you! You're me and it'd be stupid if I left you!" Claus hissed out, not wanting Lucas to hear that little tidbit. Masky leaned in and whispered right back.

"Please. Let me stay."

Both boys shared a bit of silence before Claus turned away in a huff. He was angry and upset that Masky wanted to stay, but it was his choice. Without another word, Claus lifted the metal helmet from his head and slid it back onto Masky's head.

"Fine. But you're gonna need that if you're gonna stay." Claus placed both hands onto his shoulders. Masky cracked a very shaky smile as he leaned forward and threw his arm around him for one last hug.

"Please, stay safe." He whispered.

"I'll try." Claus added. Masky moved his hand up and pulled Claus' head down. He pressed his nose against the orange mess up top and took a deep breath. It smelled just like him, and he wanted to savor that smell before he was forced to forget it again. He stepped away from the hug and looked back to Lucas.

"Pull the needle." He muttered, then pivoted on his heels and walked into the chimera room. He took a seat besides the fallen remains of the Porkybot, awaiting for 'back up' from Porky. Claus watched as he sat down, and he turned away and walked back to Lucas.

Masky pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arm around his legs. He looked at Claus one last time, and they both locked eyes before Claus disappeared with Lucas.

Masky was worried about what was going to happen now. He disobeyed Porky, killed a pigmask, and let the ginger boy escape. He was scared for the future.

The sound of whirring filled the empty void. Masky looked to the fallen Porkybot, already watching as the light on it's head blinked. The bot then eased back up and into a sitting position. There was a moment of silence before it's head cocked up and it turned it's head to look at Masky.

"Huh, I'm surprised you actually stayed. Glad you know who your master is." It joked rather cruelly. Masky turned his head away and let out a shaky sigh. The Porkybot reached out and gripped his chin, then forced him to turn his head to face him.

"Let's get you fixed up."


	10. Dust Settles

AN: Reuploaded since there was a coding error last time. Enjoy!

The moments following the interaction were eerily quiet. Lucas' mind raced with different questions and concerns, while Claus thought about all of the answers. How the heck was he gonna explain Masky? The dude was a near mirror image of himself! Well, sort of, spare the missing arm and messed up eye. Actually, how was he going to explain the concept of a 'time warp' to his younger brother? How would Lucas even _handle_ that type of news?

"Hey Claus?" Lucas' softer voice broke the silence. Claus locked eyes with his brother. He felt the pure happiness and relief practically radiating from Lucas, and his heart soared at seeing his siblings cheerful expression.

"Yeah Lucas?" Claus replied as they walked along the outside of the Chimera Labs. Lucas tossed an arm around Claus' shoulders and pulled him close.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" He peeped happily. He then buried his face into Claus' chest, and for once Claus felt at home. Despite the unusual outfit and the events that had just unfolded, he took comfort in Lucas' presence. He wrapped his arms around his head and laughed.

"I'm glad I'm okay too!" He chortled as he gave Lucas a shake which garnered a startled little squeak.

"Hey! Let go!" Lucas laughed as he struggled to escape Claus' grasp. The strange hold quick devolved into a playful little noogie before Claus released Lucas. Lucas stumbled back with a stupidly wide grin on his face as he pushed at Claus' shoulders. "You and your rough housing!"

"What? Am I not allowed to play with my brother?" Claus snorted.

"Well, yeah! But let me get a better look at you at least!" His hands then cupped his cheeks as he stared Claus straight in the eyes. Claus laughed and grabbed his wrists, but didn't pull them away.

"Why? This is so dumb!" He crowed as he stomped his feet in good fun.

"I haven't seen you in ages!" Lucas admitted, and Claus' little fluttering heart hung heavy. This had been a thought that ate away at the back of his mind, and it was something he didn't want to come to terms with.

"Ages? How long have I been gone?" Claus prodded. He snorted right after in hopes of keeping the light hearted mood.

"C-Claus!" Lucas' eyes widened as he pulled back and grabbed onto his shoulders. "You… You've been gone for years!" He exclaimed, "Three whole years!" His brows furrowed as his fingertips dug into his shoulders. He couldn't help but feel like something was _wrong_.

"T-Three years? Oh, that's a lot." A nervous chuckle slipped out from between his lips, but Lucas' now concerned expression almost forced him to stop.

"Is everything okay Claus?" Lucas' voice was down to a whisper as he pressed his palm to his forehead. It looked like he was feeling for a fever, and Claus didn't like that too much. Claus furrowed his brows and slowly pushed Lucas' hand away.

"I'm fine Lucas, I swear! I just missed you so much! It's been so long since I've seen you I just lost track of time!" He tried to play it off as just mistaken memory, but Lucas knew something was up. Yet, since Lucas couldn't put his finger on it, he sighed.

"I'm glad to have you back Claus… Maybe it was just that dumb helmet of yours that messed you up!" Lucas' bright smile showed through as his worried look disappeared. Claus felt unease ripple deep within him despite that smile.

Though, that was all interrupted by the sudden boom they both heard come from the lab. Claus knew exactly what that sound was and he lunged out at Lucas to protect him in the case that a certain someone flew too low. When everything stilled, Claus opened his eyes and gazed up at the sky. All he could see in that moment was dark smoke, and the shrinking black dot that was his doppelganger.

"Masky." Claus hissed as the moment he had with him flashed before his eyes. He then settled his eyes down onto Lucas, who was more than shocked at the fact that his sibling practically threw himself at him. The ginger boy laughed as he rolled off of him, stood, and held a hand out for him. "Sorry about that, I thought it was a bomb!"

"Claaaus!" Lucas whined as he took the hand and stood, "Be careful! What if I landed on a rock and bumped my head?"

"Oh come on, your hard head would still protect you!" Claus jabbed, getting quite the upset shove from Lucas.

"You're the one with the hard head! You stubborn little bum!" Lucas' once pouty expression turned into a cheerful one as Claus wrapped his arms around his shoulders and tried to wrestle him to the floor. Claus was just… Happy for once. He finally got his brother back after so long, but his happiness was hollow. He knew that this was not his brother, and he knew that Masky was the true Claus in this timeline.


End file.
